On October 13, 2026, the Karnataka High Court directed Meta to restore the Facebook page of Dileep T.N., a BJP state spokesperson and member of the Karnataka social media committee, which had been blocked following a communal clash case. The page, which has over 1.55 lakh followers, was geo-blocked across India for four days after police ordered its deletion, according to medianama.com.
The block stemmed from an altercation during the Milad-un-Nabi procession on August 26, 2026, on K.R. Road in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru. Following a complaint by procession organiser Abdul Razak Khan, the police registered Crime No. 128/2026 and directed Meta to delete the account details and posts of Dileep T.N. The magistrate’s August 27 order had instructed deletion of specific objectionable links, but the entire page was blocked, LiveLaw reported. The court’s interim order clarified that only the objectionable links must remain deleted, not the entire page.
This case highlights the challenges of content regulation on social media platforms in India, especially when police orders extend beyond targeted posts to entire accounts or pages. The Karnataka High Court’s intervention underscores judicial oversight in balancing law enforcement actions with digital rights. The incident follows growing scrutiny of social media moderation amid communal tensions, setting a precedent for how platforms respond to government takedown requests.
The court’s order instructs the investigating officer to ensure Meta restores the Facebook page while keeping the flagged objectionable posts deleted, as per the August 27 order. The page’s restoration marks a key judicial check on content removal practices, with the next legal steps likely to focus on the specific posts deemed objectionable in Crime No. 128/2026.