Karnataka HC warns Facebook of ‘possible shutdown’ over lack of cooperation

The case pertains to the jailed Indian citizen from Mangaluru, Shailesh Kumar, who was arrested over an alleged derogatory Facebook post targeting the Saudi King and Islam

The Karnataka high court on Wednesday warned Facebook that it may take measures to shut down the social media giant’s operations in India following its alleged non-compliance with local law enforcement during an investigation into the case of an Indian citizen who is currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia.

(Reuters Photo)

A bench of justice Krishna S Dixit issued the warning on a petition filed by one Kavitha, a resident of Mangaluru in Karnataka. “The complete report with required information should be submitted in a week before the court,” the bench directed Facebook.

The court also demanded that the Central government provide information on the actions taken thus far regarding the unjust arrest of an Indian citizen in Saudi.

“The Union Government should also submit a statement based on sealed records, disclosing the circumstances surrounding the concerned citizen, including whether he was provided legal assistance on foreign soil and whether the trial proceedings adhered to the standards of fairness prescribed by international criminal law,” said high court order.

The case pertains to the jailed Indian citizen from Mangaluru, Shailesh Kumar, who was arrested over an alleged derogatory Facebook post targeting the Saudi King and Islam. His wife, Kavitha had lodged a complaint with the local police, claiming that the offensive message was posted on a fake profile impersonating her husband. According to the complaint filed by Kavitha, her husband had been working in Saudi Arabia for the past 25 years.

Kumar had on Facebook made a post in support of the Indian government’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizenship (NRC) initiatives and right after he allegedly received a threat call following his post, which led him to delete his account. Subsequently, miscreants created a fake account using his name and shared a derogatory post targeting the Saudi King and Islam, claimed Kavitha.

In response to the controversial post, Kumar was arrested in Saudi Arabia, subjected to a trial, and given a 15-year prison sentence. Based on the information he provided, his wife filed a police complaint regarding the fake profile using her husband’s identity.

Justice Dixit heard the petition, initially filed in 2021, on Wednesday. On June 12, the high court issued an order which read, “The Commissioner of Police, Mangalore, is directed to study the case papers and be present before the court to explain why there has been an inordinate delay in concluding the investigation, especially when a citizen of this country is languishing in a jail in a foreign country after trial and conviction, with his specific claim being that his Facebook account was hacked.”

On Wednesday, Mangaluru city police commissioner Kuldeep Kumar Jain and the investigating officer appeared before the high court. He informed the high court that the investigation was delayed due to Facebook’s “lack of cooperation with law enforcement”.

As per the information provided by police, during the course of the investigation, the Mangaluru police wrote a letter to Facebook, requesting information about the origin of the fake account. However, Facebook did not respond to their inquiry.

Meta Platform was added as a party to the petition on May 29, 2023. When the high court questioned the counsel representing Facebook, the counsel stated that they had no precise information about the location of the incident.

This prompted the high court to issue a warning, indicating that it may shut down Facebook’s operations if the company does not cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation. The council has requested a week’s time to provide the required details.