JUDGMENT :

1. By way of this petition, the petitioner seeks to invoke jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226(2) of the Constitution of India, challenging, inter alia, the order dated 4th May 2022 passed in CRM/1306/2022 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab; by which the learned J.M.F.C, Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab has directed to block the following links with immediate effect:

I. https://www.facebook.com/AdikhamGujarat/

II. https://www.facebook.com/bharatvikas

III. https://www.facebook.com/ForBJPGujarat

2. Brief facts giving rise to the present petition can be narrated as under:

[2.1] The petitioner claims himself to be engaged in social activities and associated with (i) Nation First Foundation as Trustee, Gandhinagar, (ii) Niharika Art Foundation – Trustee, Vadodara, (iii) Udgam Charitable Trust – Consultant, (iv) Indian Lions – Member (v) Swarveena – Coordinators, (vi) Bhartiya Janta Party , Gujarat – Incharge, Social Media North Zone.

[2.2] Pursuant to his social activities, the petitioner has created and managing community page on facebook namely “Adikham Gujarat”, wherein various posts are being pasted about Gujarat’s governance, measures and achievements of the Central Government of India and State Government of Gujarat as well as about Gujarat politics. The said page claims to have 4,41,000 followers and daily on an average 7 – 9 videos and posts were being put on the said page “Adikham Gujarat” before it has been blocked.

[2.3] That, one F.I.R. came to be lodged with Mulepur Police Station situated within the District : Fatehgarh Sahib at Punjab being C.R. No.I- 37 of 2022 on 30th April 2022 against the unknown person for the offence punishable under Sections 295A, 153, 153A, 505(2), 120B of the Indian Penal Code by one Chaman Mohanlal Qureshi in his capacity of a member of the Aam Aadmi Party. In the said F.I.R., it is alleged that the creators of page viz. (I) https://www.facebook.com/AdikhamGujarat/, (II) https://www.facebook.com/bharatvikas, and (III) https:// www.facebook.com/ForBJPGujarat are promoting a feeling of enmity, hatred and ill-will between the different religious groups and are instigating people in order to target the population belonging to a caste.

[2.4] Pursuant to the said F.I.R., for the purpose of effective investigation, the SHO Mulepur, District Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab has approached the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab by way of an application No.1306 of 2022 under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2008 with a prayer to block the said pages and directions for providing certain details.

[2.5] Pursuant to the said application, the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab, on the same day i.e. on 4th May 2022, directed to block all the pages including the page created by the present petitioner with immediate effect and till further orders and further directed the facebook to provide certain information to the Investigating Agency for the purpose of effective and proper investigation.

3. The petitioner, being aggrieved by the aforesaid order, approached this Court by way of this Special Criminal Application invoking the jurisdiction under Article 226(2) of the Constitution of India with the following reliefs:

“14(A)This Honourable Court may be pleased to exercise the powers under Article 226(2) of the Constitution of India and be pleased to issue any appropriate writ, order or direction, declaring and holding that the impugned order at Annexure A dated 04.05.2022 passed in CRM/1306/2022 and/or CRM 200/2022 by the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Fatehgarh Sahib at Punjab, is bad in law, illegal and without jurisdiction and without powers and against the statutory provisions of Section 69A of the IT Act, 2008 as well as the rules made thereunder and thereby, be pleased to quash and set aside the impugned order, and also be pleased to further direct to the respondent to forthwith open/unb