The Gujarat High Court has intervened in a case involving Google India, restraining the tech giant from deleting the Google account of a 24-year-old engineer, Neel Samir Shukla. Shukla had found himself locked out of his account after allegedly uploading childhood photos onto his Google Drive, including one depicting him being bathed by his grandmother when he was two years old.

Justice VD Nanavati presiding over the case, stated, "In view of the fact that the petitioner herein is not in a position to use the g-mail, google pay, UPI or such other facilities which flow from his google account, considering the fact that he has approached Google with a legal notice (dated August 03, 2023) and no steps are undertaken by the respondent (Google), by way of interim relief, his google account and google data attached with google ID is directed not to be deleted till further orders.”

Shukla, who has been a Google account holder since 2013, received notification on May 11, 2023, informing him that his account had been blocked due to "explicit content" related to potential child sexual abuse or exploitation, purportedly stemming from the uploaded photo.

During the hearing, Advocate Dipen Desai, representing Shukla, informed the Court that Google had conveyed via email its intention to delete data from Shukla's account by April 4, 2024. Expressing concern, Desai pleaded with the Court to halt the deletion process, citing the potential loss of crucial data.

Subsequently, the Court inquired whether the account was deactivated automatically or in response to a complaint and whether the email notifying Shukla of the impending data deletion was legitimate or spam.

Desai explained that Shukla's account was suspended after he uploaded childhood photos, some of which were flagged as containing child pornography due to images of his grandmother bathing him. Desai further stated that despite seeking assistance from both the State and Central governments, Shukla's efforts were futile, and consequently, Shukla's access to services like Google Pay for his business was severely restricted.

In light of these developments, Justice Nanavati directed Google not to permanently delete Shukla's account until further orders, acknowledging the gravity of the situation and the petitioner's inability to access essential services.

In August 2023, the petitioner served a legal notice to Google but received no response. On March 15, pursuant to his petition, the high court issued a notice but the tech giant is yet to respond.

The High Court had previously issued notice to the tech giant and others in the matter.

Case Title: Neel Samir Shukla v. Union of India