Meta Assures Karnataka High Court To Retrieve Data Of Now Deleted Fake Facebook Account That Led To Indian's Arrest In Saudi Arabia

An allegedly fake Facebook account which is now deleted posted objectionable content targeting the King of Saudi Arabia and Islam leading to the arrest of an Indian citizen in Saudi, and Meta Platform has assured the Karnataka High Court that it would do everything for retrieving the data of the said account.

A single judge bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit in its order dated June 14 recorded that Meta's technical team will interact with the Investigating Officer and come out with a plan of action in the matter. “It is made clear that the META PLATFORM should do all that is necessary and it will have immunity from the usual constraints that are arguably coming in its way and that would be vouch safed by this court,” the bench said.

The petitioner Kavitha Shailesh claimed that her husband Shailesh Kumar was employed in Saudi Arabia. She alleged that Shailesh's Facebook account was hacked and using the same an unknown person posted objectionable content targeting the King of Saudi Arabia and Islam. She claims that she had filed a police complaint in Mangaluru. However, in the meanwhile, the Saudi authorities arrested Shailesh and imprisoned him.

She says that Mangaluru police had initiated an investigation and sought information from Meta regarding the creation of the fake account, however, the platform did not respond to the police's inquiries.

The court vide its order dated May 29 had permitted the petitioner to amend her petition and include Meta Platform as a party respondent and issued notice to it.

Allowing the amendment application the court had said “This court is also of the view that the presence of said entity as additional respondent is eminently needed so that some coercive action may be taken against it, should it fail to respond to the requisition of police, positively, subject to all just exceptions.”

By its order dated June 12, the court had directed the Commissioner of Police, Mangalore to explain why there has been enormous delay in accomplishing the investigation when an Indian citizen is languishing in a jail of a foreign country, particularly when his specific stand was that his Facebook account was hacked.

Further the Union Government was asked to make a statement based upon records to be given in a sealed cover as to what happened to the concerned citizen; whether he was given lawyer’s assistance on a foreign soil; whether apparently trial proceedings were held with fairness standards as obtaining in the international criminal law.

On June 14, the bench was informed that there is some difficulty being faced by the Investigating Officer because of the reluctance attributable to the Meta-intermediary to furnish the information.

Meta's counsel submitted that there are some constraints such as lack of material information which the police have to specify. He assured that if that information is furnished, the technical team of the company would do something to retrieve whatever information the police need from the account of the person concerned.

Accordingly the court adjourned the hearing to June 22.

Case Title: MRS KAVITHA SHAILESH And Union of India & Others

Case No: WP 22905/2021

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