The Karnataka High Court has issued a verbal warning to Facebook, stating that it will shut down the social media giant’s operations in India if it fails to cooperate with a police investigation regarding a fake profile. The case revolves around Shailesh Kumar, an Indian national currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for allegedly making derogatory Facebook posts against the Saudi king and Islam. His wife, Kavitha, filed a complaint with the local police, asserting that the post was made from a fake profile impersonating her husband.
Due to the police’s failure to complete the investigation into the fake profile, Kavitha approached the high court. Originally filed in 2021, her petition was heard by Justice Krishna S Dixit on Wednesday.
On Monday, the High Court had ordered the Commissioner of Police, Mangalore, to explain the significant delay in completing the investigation when an Indian citizen is languishing in a foreign jail after claiming that his Facebook account was hacked.
During the court proceedings, the police commissioner informed the High Court that the investigation had been delayed due to Facebook’s lack of cooperation. When the court questioned Facebook’s counsel, they stated that they had no information about the exact location of the incident. In response, the High Court warned that it would order the shutdown of Facebook’s operations in India if it did not cooperate with the investigation.
Facebook’s counsel requested a week’s time to submit the required details, and the next hearing is scheduled for June 22. The High Court has directed Facebook India to submit a detailed report on the incident. Additionally, the court included Meta, Facebook’s parent company, as a party to the petition on May 29.
Furthermore, the Karnataka High Court has directed the central government to provide information on the steps taken to secure the Indian national who has been imprisoned in a foreign country due to the fake case.
The Fake Account Case
According to Kavitha’s complaint, Shailesh had been working in Saudi Arabia for the past 25 years. He had posted in support of the Indian government’s Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizenship. After receiving a threatening call, Shailesh deleted his Facebook account.
However, it is alleged that some miscreants created a fake account in his name and posted derogatory content against the Saudi king and Islam. As a result of this post, Shailesh was arrested, tried, and sentenced to 15 years in prison in Saudi Arabia.
Based on the information provided by Shailesh, his wife filed a police complaint regarding the fake profile bearing her husband’s name.
