Punjab and Haryana High Court, on October 5, overturned a Yamuna Nagar superintendent of police directive that had silenced Haryana 24 News Network’s Facebook page. The order, issued on August 21, had disabled the page without notifying the network or its users.
The network argued that it received no prior notice and that the block was a surprise attack on its digital presence. Police officials contended that one of the company’s directors was an accused in an extortion case and had allegedly used the page to intimidate witnesses.
Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya held that the Information Technology Rules, 2021, implicitly demand that any takedown notice be sent to the affected user to preserve natural justice. He further ruled that only an officer of the rank of deputy inspector general or higher has the authority to issue such a notice, a criterion the superintendent did not meet.
The court ordered Facebook to restore the page immediately and stipulated that any future restriction must be accompanied by a copy of the notice sent to the intermediary and the user. A reporter from the network said the sudden block left his team scrambling to inform viewers, underscoring the real‑world impact of the decision.