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The Madhya Pradesh High Court has sought the Union Government's response on a plea filed by the President of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association challenging the blocking of his WhatsApp accounts.

A bench of Justice Vishal Mishra granted time to Union's counsel, to seek instructions in the matter. The Court also directed the petitioner to forward a copy of the plea to the counsel appearing for Meta Inc., which owns and operates WhatsApp.

The matter has been listed for October 12, 2026.

According to the petition, the petitioner has been using WhataApp for several years as his primary business and professional handle. The said number was unilaterally blocked by WhatsApp. Thus, the petitioner submitted a formal in-app review on August 23, 2026 under the statutory grievance mechanism, but the same was not resolved. He was reportedly not provided with reasons within the timeline mandated by Rule 3(2) of the IT Rules, 2021.

It was stated that due to severe disruptions to online legal practice, the petitioner had to procure a secondary number. However, the secondary number was also restricted and suspended. Thereafter, the petitioner served WhatsApp with a formal notice on September 2, 2026, demanding immediate restoration and technical disclosure.

Per the petition, even after sending notice, WhatsApp neither restored access nor provided reasons for its action.

For Petitioner: Advocates Vikas Mahawar, Ghuncha Rasool, Jaydeep Kourav, Rohit Mishra, Akansha Singh Chauhan, Aniket Tiwari and Sourabh Singh Rajput

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