SFI Delhi’s appeal against Instagram page takedown stuck ‘under process’ for six weeks

• Download the court order here. 

The Delhi High Court has directed the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) to decide the Students’ Federation of India’s (SFI) appeal against Instagram’s disabling of its Delhi account within three weeks. On September 24, 2026, Justice Amit Mahajan disposed of a petition filed by SFI and Sooraj Elamon, secretary of its Delhi State Committee, after the appeal had remained pending before the GAC since August 12. The account, @sfidelhi, had approximately 13,000 followers.

Appeal in limbo since takedown: According to the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), Instagram suspended @sfidelhi on July 5, 2026, stating that it “may be associated with another account that has gone against our rules”. The notice cited its account integrity standards but did not identify the other account or specify the alleged violation. SFI appealed that day; however, Instagram rejected the appeal on July 7 and permanently disabled the account.

On July 9, the petitioners complained to Meta’s Grievance Officer. Although Meta acknowledged the complaint, IFF said it provided generic reporting links rather than a substantive response. The petitioners approached the GAC on August 12, but the appeal remained “under process” more than a month later.

Under Rule 3(2)(a)(i) of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, as amended in February 2026, grievance officers must acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and resolve them within seven days. Meanwhile, Rule 3A(4) requires the GAC to endeavour to resolve appeals within 30 calendar days. With no decision forthcoming, the petitioners approached the High Court. The Court disposed of the petition, expecting the GAC to decide the appeal within three weeks.

Takedowns since IT Rules amendments: The February amendments to the IT Rules cut the deadline for taking down unlawful content from 36 hours to three hours, increasing pressure on platforms to act quickly. Following these amendments, Meta added India in April to the list of countries where it will automatically restrict flagged content following government requests, regardless of whether it later finds the requests legally valid.

In March alone, MediaNama documented over 40 instances of content blocking and takedowns. During the July protests organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), authorities targeted protest footage, including a video by DW journalist Sadhika Tiwari showing a distressed student, and fact-checks debunking AI-generated videos. X also withheld journalist Rana Ayyub’s decade-old posts and temporarily restricted multiple accounts. During the ongoing protests over Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, MediaNama’s tracker recorded further restrictions, including those affecting a video by CJP president Abhijit Dipke and the satirical account NetaFlix.

Why does this matter? The longer an account stays down, the harder it can be to rebuild its audience. During the six weeks that SFI Delhi’s appeal remained pending, the organisation could not post updates or reach its 13,000 followers through its established account. Moreover, social media algorithms rely on signals such as engagement and recent activity to determine what appears in users’ feeds.

A prolonged break can mean fewer interactions and less visibility when an account returns, making it harder for posts to reach even existing followers. Restoring an account does not guarantee that its previous reach will return. Consequently, delays in the GAC process can deepen the impact of a takedown, leaving organisations to rebuild the audience and engagement they lost while waiting for a decision.

Also read: 

• Internet shutdown ordered around New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar
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