Kerala HC seeks Union, state govt response on blocking NoCap’s Facebook page

The Kerala High Court on Monday, October 26, sought responses from the Union and Kerala governments on whether either had issued directions to Meta Platforms to block the Facebook page of the Malayalam digital news platform NoCap.Justice Ziyad Rahman AA admitted a petition filed by Hyder Ali K, NoCap’s chief editor, and granted time to the Union and state government counsels to obtain instructions on the matter. The court also directed that notice be served to Meta. The case will be heard next on November 5.NoCap’s Facebook page was restricted in India on September 28, after the platform notified the organisation that the action followed a notice attributed to the Government of India or law enforcement authorities under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.The petitioner approached the High Court challenging the restriction, arguing that the blocking order was neither made public nor shared with him or his team. He contended that the absence of prior notice or an opportunity to respond violates the principles of natural justice and due process, as well as the right to equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.As per LiveLaw, the petition sought to have the order behind the restriction quashed and the Facebook page restored. It also asked the court to declare that directions issued under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, read with Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, must be communicated to users whose content is taken down or disabled under such directions.Among the interim measures sought are the production of the blocking order, a stay on its implementation, and the restoration of the page while the case is pending.According to the petition, NoCap began operating in November 2023 and publishes independent coverage and commentary on international, national, and local affairs. The organisation says its social media monetisation programmes are an important source of revenue used to meet its operating expenses.The organisation had said that neither Meta nor the authorities had identified the specific content considered unlawful or provided a clear explanation for the action.In February 2026, Meta had also disabled NoCap’s Instagram account, alongside the Instagram account of Malayalam newspaper Deshabhimani. Both organisations subsequently launched new accounts on the platform.