Appellate authority must decide the social-media account restriction appeal within 45 days.

The petitioner’s Facebook and associated Instagram accounts were restricted in India on 19 August 2026.

He challenged the restriction and sought, among other reliefs, restoration of the accounts and production of the government or law-enforcement notice said to have led to the restriction.

He had also filed an appeal on 3 September 2026, registered as Appeal No. 156668 of 2026.

The Union of India and the State submitted that neither had requested Meta to close the accounts.

The petitioner asked the Court to direct the appellate authority to decide his appeal expeditiously.

1. Whether the appellate authority should be directed to decide the petitioner’s pending appeal against the account restriction within a specified period.

2. Whether the Court should grant the other reliefs sought concerning the restriction and restoration of the accounts.

The Court referred to the petitioner’s appellate remedy under Rule 3A(3) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, as identified by the Union of India.

The operative direction was case-specific: the appellate authority was to decide the appeal as early as possible and no later than 45 days from the order.

The Court noted that the petitioner had already pursued the appellate remedy and that both the Union and the State denied having requested the account closures.

In light of those submissions and the pending appeal, it disposed of the petition by directing the appellate authority to decide the appeal within 45 days.

The Court did not adjudicate the legality of the restriction or determine whether the accounts should be restored.

The Court did not grant a separate order quashing the restriction or restoring access to the accounts.