1 CGHC010273482026 2026:CGHC:31169 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPC No. 3796 of 2026 M/s Sitatex A Partnership Firm, Registered Under The Indian Partnership Act, 1932, Having its Registered Address at Shop No. 47, Cloth Market, Pandri, District Raipur Chhattisgarh, 492001, Through Its Partner Shri Hitesh S/o Dilip Motwani Aged About 34 Years, R/o Pandri, Raipur Chhattisgarh. ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - Union Of India, Through the Secretary, Ministry Of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), having Office at Electronics, Niketan, 6, C G O Complex, Lodhi Road New Delhi -110003. Email tulikapandey@meity.gov.in 2 - Union Of India, Ministry Of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Through Grievance Appellate Committee, Having Office at Electronics Niketan, 6, C G O Complex, Lodhi, Road New Delhi, 110003. Email: support-gac@gov.in 3 - META Platforms Inc. (Instagram) Through Its Grievance Officer, Having Office at: Meta Platforms. Inc. Unit 28 & 29, the Executive Centre, Level 18, D L F Cyber City, Building No-5, Tower A, Phase III, Gurgaon-122002, India. ... Respondent(s) (Cause Title downloaded from CIS Periphery) For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Sahil Dewani, Advocate through VC along with Mr.Shikhar Bhaktiyar, Advocate For Respondent 1 &2 : Ms. Annapurna Tiwari, Advocate and Mr. TS Sahu, Advocate SHYNA AJAY Digitally signed by SHYNA AJAY Date: 2026.07.24 14:49:57 +0530 2 S B: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad Order on Board 22/07/2026 1. By way of this petition, the petitioner seeks the following reliefs : A. Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate Writ/Order/Direction, thereby directing the Respondent No.1 and Respondent No.3 to order restoration of Petitioner's Instagram Account @sitasbysitatex along with all associated data, posts, communications, connections and digital content intact, as it existed prior to the impugned blocking; B. Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate Writ/Order//Direction, thereby directing the Respondent No.1 to provide the notice/order issued by Respondent No.1 to Respondent No.3, pursuant to which the Instagram account of the Petitioner i.e. @sitasbysitatex, was blocked C. Issue a Writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate Writ/Order/ Direction, thereby quashing the Notice issued by Respondent No.1 to Respondent No.3 under section 79 (3) (b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (ANNEXURE-P3), pursuant to which the Instagram account of the Petitioner (@sitasbysitatex) was blocked: D. Declare that the blocking of the Petitioner's Instagram Account @sitasbysitatex without prior notice, without disclosure of reasons and without opportunity of hearing as arbitrary, illegal and violative of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India, and contrary to the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics 3 Code) Rules, 2021; E. Direct Respondent No.1 & 3 to pay to the Petitioner appropriate compensation, as may be assessed by this Hon'ble Court, in recognition of the injury, reputational damage, professional loss, stigma and mental agony suffered by it due to the unlawful suspension of the account; F. Issue appropriate directions to Respondent No.1, being the statutory authority responsible for administration of the IT Act and the IT Rules, 2021, to ensure effective enforcement of the obligations of Significant Social Media Intermediaries, including compliance with grievance redressal mechanisms, statutory due diligence and protection of the fundamental rights of users; G. Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate Writ/Order/ Direction directing Respondent No.2/ Grievance Appellate Committee to decide the Petitioner’s statutory appeal bearing Appeal No. 20510/2026 (ANNEXURE-P5) in accordance with law and within a time-bound period; H. Pending the hearing and final disposal of the present Petition, grant interim relief by directing Respondent Nos. 1 and 3 to provisionally restore and reactivate the Petitioner's Instagram account @sitasbysitatex, and further direct the Respondents to preserve and not delete, alter, suspend or tamper with any data, posts, messages, contacts or digital records associated with the Petitioner's account; I. Grant ad-interim reliefs as per prayer clause (A), (C), and (H); J. Pass such further and other orders or directions as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the present case, in the interest of justice, equity and good conscience 2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner’s 4 Instagram account/page has been blocked without following due process of law and without affording any opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. The said page has been blocked since 18.4.2026. As such, the petitioner has preferred an appeal under Rule 3A of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 before the Grievance Appellate Committee, which is required to decide the appeal within 30 days. The petitioner has filed an appeal on 28.5.2026. However, despite the lapse of more than one month, the said appeal has not been decided. Hence, the petitioner seeks a limited direction to the appellate authority to consider and decide the appeal expeditiously, preferably within a week. In support of his submissions, learned counsel placed reliance on two orders of the Delhi High Court (1) T.V. Today Network Limited and another Vs. Union of India and others ({Division Bench} WPC No.4912/2024 decided on 1.5.2024) and (2) Amita Sachdeva Vs. Union of India and others (WPC No.8617/2026 decided on 3.7.2026). In both matters, the High Court directed the competent authority to decide the pending appeal within a stipulated time- period, granting one week in the former case and 15 days in the latter. 3. The aforesaid limited prayer is not opposed by the Counsel for respondents 1 & 2. 4. In view of the limited relief sought to direct the early disposal of the appeal, issuance of notice to respondent No.3 is dispensed with. 5 5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and also perused the documents annexed with the petition. 6. Considering the limited prayer made by learned counsel for the petitioner, this Court deems it appropriate to dispose of this petition with a direction to the Grievance Appellate Committee to decide the pending appeal of the petitioner expeditiously. Since the petitioner’s Instagram account has been blocked since 18.4.2026 and the appeal was moved on 28.5.2026, the Grievance Appellate Committee shall consider and decide the subject appeal within a period of 10 days from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order. Ordered accordingly. 7. It is made clear that this Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case. The Grievance Appellate Committee shall, after considering the grievance raised by the petitioner in appeal and affording a due opportunity of hearing, pass a reasoned and speaking order, in accordance with law. 8. With the aforesaid observations/directions, the Petition is finally disposed of. Sd/- (Amitendra Kishore Prasad) Judge Shyna Ajay