BENGALURU: The High Court on Wednesday warned Facebook that it will have to consider an order to suspend Facebook activities in the country after it failed to cooperate with the state police in the investigation into the arrest of an Indian national in Saudi Arabia.
In this regard, the bench led by Justice Krishna S. Dixit, which took up the application filed by Kavitha, a resident of Bikarnakatta near Mangalore in Dakshina Kannada district, gave this warning. “The bench directed Facebook to submit a complete report with necessary information to the court within a week.
The court adjourned the hearing to June 22, directing that the central government should inform about the action initiated in the case of arresting an Indian citizen in a false case, and the Mangalore police should also conduct a proper investigation and submit a report.
Kavitha said in her petition that while her husband Shailesh Kumar (52) was working in a company in Saudi Arabia for 25 years, she was living with her children in her hometown.
Shailesh Kumar had posted a message on Facebook in 2019 in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) but an unknown person opened a fake Facebook account in his name and posted offensive statements against the King of Saudi Arabia and Islam. As soon as Kumar came to know about the matter, he informed the family and Kavita filed a police complaint in Mangalore. However, the Saudi police arrested Shailesh Kumar and put him in jail.
The Mangalore police, who have taken up the investigation, wrote a letter to Facebook and asked for information about the fake Facebook account being opened. However, Facebook has not given any response to the police. In 2021, the petitioner moved the High Court challenging the delay in the investigation. Kavita had also written a letter to the central government to release her husband from jail.
