$~37 to 39 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Date of Decision: 30.03.2026 IN THE MATTERS OF:

+ W.P.(C) 11301/2025 REEPAK KANSAL .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Deepak Kansal, Mr. Ipsit Pallav, Mr. Hridyesh Singh, Ms. Geeta Rani, Mr. Adhyayan Gupta, Advs.

versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. .....Respondents Through: Adv P.S Singh CGSC, Adv Shivangi Sharma, Adv Mrityunjay Kumar Singh, Adv Rajneesh k Sharma, Advs. for R-1&2.

Mr. Vivek Reddy, Senior Advocate with Ms. Swati Agarwal, Mr. Shashank Mishra, Ms. Shivika Mattoo, Ms. Rithika Mathur, Mr. Pival Peddireddi, Mr. Suvaroop Saha Roy, Advocates for R-3.

38 + W.P.(C) 18145/2025 DR. ADISH C AGGARWALA .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Deepak Kansal, Mr. Ipsit Pallav, Mr. Hridyesh Singh, Ms. Geeta Rani, Mr. Adhyayan Gupta, Advs.

versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. .....Respondents Through: Mr Amit Tiwari CGSC Ms Ayushi Srivastava Mr Ayush Tanwar Adv Mr Kushagra Malik Adv. for UoI.

Mr. Vivek Reddy, Senior Advocate with Ms. Swati Agarwal, Mr. Shashank Mishra, Ms. Shivika Mattoo, Ms. Rithika Mathur, Mr. Pival Peddireddi, Mr. Suvaroop Saha Roy, Advocates for LLC/R-3.

39 + W.P.(C) 18178/2025 ROHIT PANDEY .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Deepak Kansal, Mr. Ipsit Pallav, Mr. Hridyesh Singh, Ms. Geeta Rani, Mr. Adhyayan Gupta, Advs.

versus UNION OF INDIA .....Respondent Through: Mr Amit Tiwari CGSC Ms Ayushi Srivastava Mr Ayush Tanwar Adv Mr Arpan Narwal Mr Kushagra Malik Adv. for UoI.

Mr. Vivek Reddy, Senior Advocate with Ms. Swati Agarwal, Mr. Shashank Mishra, Ms. Shivika Mattoo, Ms. Rithika Mathur, Mr. Pival Peddireddi, Mr. Suvaroop Saha Roy, Advocates for LLC/R-3.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV

J U D G E M E N T

PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV, J. (ORAL)

1. The grievance raised in these writ petitions relates to banning of the petitioners’ WhatsApp account. The Court earlier issued notices to the respondents.

2. WhatsApp, LLC is represented by Mr. Vivek Reddy, learned senior counsel. He submits that as per policy guidelines, WhatsApp has to constantly monitor the accounts and in case of any violation, action is contemplated as per the extant policy.

According to him, in all three cases, the ban has been lifted.

3. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, however, submit that the messages etc. are being transmitted, however, the entire data which the petitioners had in their WhatsApp has not been restored, and the same is not accessible to them. They, therefore, contend that the same is causing undue hardship to all the petitioners who are highly respected and reputed counsel practising in various courts.

4. The Court, however, finds that Rule 3A of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code), Rules, 2021 [‘Rules’], provides for grievance redressal mechanism by the Appellate Committee. The said provision is extracted below, for reference:

“3A. Appeal to Grievance Appellate Committee(s).—

(1) The Central Government shall, by notification, establish one or more Grievance Appellate Committees within three months from the date of commencement of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2022.

(2) Each Grievance Appellate Committee shall consist of a chairperson and two whole time members appointed by the Central Government, of which one shall be a member ex-officio and two shall be independent members.

(3) Any person who is aggrieved by a decision of the Grievance Officer or whose grievance is not resolved within the period specified for resolution in sub-clause (i) of clause (a) of subrule (2) of rule 3 or clause (b) of sub- rule (2) of rule 3 or sub-rule (11) of rule 4A, as the case may be may prefer an appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of communication from the Grievance Officer.

(4) The Grievance Appellate Committee shall deal with such appeal expeditiously and shall make an endeavour to resolve the appeal finally within thirty calendar days