The Supreme Court has granted interim relief to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and directed Meta to restore the Instagram and Facebook pages of its Gujarat unit, subject to removal of objectionable posts.
A Bench comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe passed the order on an interlocutory application filed by AAP in the broader proceedings concerning the blocking of social media accounts and content. The application sought restoration of AAP Gujarat’s Instagram account @aapgujarat and its Facebook page, which together had over 10.39 lakh followers before being blocked in April 2026.
The blocking order was previously tendered before the Court by counsel appearing for Meta and was subsequently filed by AAP. The material placed before the Court records that the blocking followed intimations issued by the Gujarat authorities under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 read with Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Rules, 2021.
In relation to @aapgujarat and @aapahmedabad, the April 24 communication alleged that the accounts contained false and misleading advertisements portraying political parties negatively and intended to manipulate voters. It further alleged that certain reels were intended to defame or malign political parties, incite people and potentially disrupt the election process. The communication cited Security of State and referred to Section 175 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
AAP has raised the broader issue of blocking of social media accounts and content without adequate notice to users, contending that disabling the Gujarat unit’s social media presence effectively choked an important communication channel of a national political party.
During Monday’s hearing, Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for AAP, sought interim relief, particularly in view of the Union seeking another adjournment. The Court ultimately allowed the interlocutory application and directed restoration of the pages, subject to removal of objectionable posts.
The Court ordered that the interim application is allowed subject to removal of objectionable post. Post after 2 weeks.