Karnataka HC directs Meta to restore BJP spokesperson’s Facebook page, keep objectionable posts down

Access the order here.

On October 13, 2026, the Karnataka High Court directed the investigating officer to ask Meta to restore the Facebook page of Dileep T.N., who posts as Dileep Gowda Kunigal, in a Bengaluru communal clash case. Dileep T.N. describes himself as a state spokesperson and a member of the BJP’s Karnataka social media committee. The interim order clarifies that “the objectionable links which have been ordered to be deleted vide order dated 27.08.2026 in Crime No.128/2026” must not be restored.

The order shows how an entire page can be blocked following an order like the magistrate’s August 27 order, which directed the deletion of only “the links of the petitioner”. The police intimation received by Meta, shared as Annexure H to the writ petition, shows that it asked the company “to delete the account details/post details of the petitioner”. The page, which the petition claims has over 1.55 lakh followers, was geo-blocked across India for four days, even after Dileep had deleted the flagged post, LiveLaw reported.

What triggered the block: During the Milad-un-Nabi procession on August 26, 2026, an altercation took place on K.R. Road in Basavanagudi, The Hindu reported. The incident was registered as Crime No. 128/2026 following a complaint by procession organiser Abdul Razak Khan. The complaint named Puneeth Kerehalli and associates of the Rashtra Rakshana Pade at the Basavanagudi police station, according to LiveLaw.

On August 27, a Bengaluru magistrate directed the investigating officer to instruct Meta, X Corp and Google/YouTube to delete the listed links and accounts attributed to the accused. Dileep’s post, which reshared the video, was among the content identified for deletion.

Facebook had already flagged the post under its violence and incitement policy, prompting Dileep to delete it. However, four days later, his entire page was geo-blocked. He sent an email through Meta’s grievance channel to flag the issue, but the restriction remained, the petition noted.

Dileep’s petition seeks directions from the court to Meta “to forthwith lift, withdraw and revoke the geo-block/geo-ban” on the page and “to restore full access to the petitioner and to the public within India”.

The court’s remarks: The court issued notice to Meta Platforms, Inc. and Meta Platforms Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. and directed that process fees be paid within five days. It also directed the investigating officer, respondent No. 5, to communicate the restoration order to Meta. On October 8, the Additional Government Advocate had accepted notice on behalf of the state respondents. The matter is listed for November 12, 2026.

This is the second time a High Court has directed that specific posts be separated from an entire account. The Kerala High Court had earlier ordered the restoration of journalist N. Madhavan Kutty’s Facebook account and directed the police to send Meta only the URLs of the objectionable posts to be taken down.

Section 79(3)(b) notices have also been used to block entire pages and accounts, including MediaOne’s Facebook page in April and the Aam Aadmi Party’s Gujarat accounts. As we reported earlier, Meta has increasingly blocked flagged content in India at the request of government agencies or the police, without conducting a case-by-case review.

Also read:

• Block the post, not the account: Kerala HC orders Meta to restore journalist’s Facebook
• Despite the SC order, why hasn’t Meta restored Aam Aadmi Party’s blocked accounts?