The Bombay High Court has directed Meta Platforms to preserve the content associated with eight suspended Instagram handles belonging to Delta Corp, a gaming and hospitality company. Delta Corp has challenged Meta’s suspension of its official accounts, alleging the action in April was arbitrary and taken without prior notice or explanation. Delta Corp argues that Meta did not follow its stated enforcement framework, which it says includes graded action and notice before disabling accounts. The company also points to alleged impersonator or fake pages using the “Deltin” brand that continue to operate on Instagram despite the suspension of Delta’s official handles.
In an interim order, Justice Abhay Ahuja ordered Meta not to delete the relevant content while the dispute is pending further hearings. The court also allowed Delta Corp to amend its interim application after Meta suspended an additional official handle during the case proceedings. The parties disputed how long and under which provisions the content must be preserved, referring to preservation timelines discussed under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The court has directed Meta to file a reply within three weeks and scheduled the matter for further hearing on August 6.
