The Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice to Twitter on a petition challenging the suspension of an account. The petition alleged that the account was suspended without giving any prior warning and any opportunity of being heard.
Justice V Kameswar Rao issued notice to the central government along with the microblogging site and sought the response to the petition.
The petition said that Twitter performs a public function and is bound by Section 79 of the Information Technology Act 2000 and Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. It is further said the suspension is in violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India as it affects the right to free speech.
Petition moved by Dimple Kaul said that the Twitter handle had more than 2,55,000 followers. It further said that the Twitter handle was being used for posting educational content related to different subjects including literature, women’s rights, Indic culture, non-violence, equality, politics and history. The bench also issued notice on another petitioner against suspension of the Twitter account of user Suyash Deep Rai.
Advocate Raghav Awasthi, counsel for both the petitioner, submitted that Twitter was deleting the profile as per its own sweet will and they have no right to do so in law and contended that the accounts be restored during the pendency of the petitions. On the other hand, Senior Advocate Sajan Poovayya on the behalf of the micro-blogging site said that a writ petition was maintainable against the US-based social media platform as it is a private entity. He sought time to file a reply.
The counsel for the petitioner also submitted that a similar petition by a senior advocate against the suspension of his account is also pending before the court. The Court said it will finally hear the petitions along with a pending petition, on the date fixed. Both the petitions are listed for March 30, 2022.
