The Delhi High Court has called upon WhatsApp and the Central government to respond to a petition filed by an advocate who claims his WhatsApp account was abruptly suspended, cutting him off from crucial professional and personal data.
The matter, heard by Justice Sachin Datta, involves a plea from advocate Reepak Kansal, who argues that the suspension of his account was arbitrary and carried out without prior notice or explanation. Notices have been issued to WhatsApp, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the Department of Telecommunications. The next hearing is slated for December 18.
Kansal contends that his deactivated account contained a trove of essential digital material — including client communications, legal drafts, Bar Association election documents, and study material for the Advocate-on-Record examination. The loss, he says, has directly impacted his professional duties and participation in the Supreme Court Bar Association elections earlier this year.
The petition claims that WhatsApp’s action has infringed upon his fundamental rights and that repeated attempts to contact the platform via email and courier went unanswered. Kansal further alleged that WhatsApp has not appointed a Grievance Officer in India as required under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 — a regulation mandating acknowledgment of user complaints within 24 hours.
Seeking judicial intervention, Kansal has urged the court to direct WhatsApp to restore his account and compel the company to adopt a transparent, fair, and consistent policy for account suspensions. He has also asked the court to ensure the government enforces proper redressal mechanisms and operationalizes the proposed Data Protection Board to safeguard users from similar issues.
