The Kerala High Court has cleared the way for Malayalam digital news platform NoCap and the Kerala Independent Farmers Association (KIFA) to resume operating their Facebook pages, which Meta had blocked following complaints concerning allegedly objectionable content.
The orders have triggered a political controversy, with the CPI(M) accusing the V D Satheesan-led UDF government of using police and administrative authorities to restrict online criticism.
The CPI(M) welcomed the court’s intervention on Thursday, alleging that the government had attempted to silence independent media and organisations critical of its policies. The state government has not responded to the allegations.
High Court Says Entire Facebook Page Cannot Be Blocked Over Objectionable Posts
In its October 9 order concerning KIFA, the High Court held that the presence of objectionable posts did not justify blocking an entire Facebook account.
The court directed Meta to restore KIFA’s Facebook page, which had been blocked following instructions from the Director General of Police (DGP).
While allowing the page to resume operations, the court clarified that the DGP could still direct Meta to remove individual posts considered objectionable. However, such removal would remain subject to the final decision in the pending writ petition.
A separate proceeding concerning NoCap resulted in similar relief for the digital news platform.
During the hearing, the government maintained that it had requested Meta to remove certain hateful comments appearing under posts published by NoCap’s chief editor. It denied having issued any instruction to block the platform’s entire Facebook page.
Taking note of that submission, the High Court permitted NoCap to operate its page after removing the allegedly objectionable comments identified by the DGP.
Pinarayi Vijayan Accuses Government of Suppressing Dissent
Leader of Opposition and senior CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that the government’s actions reflected an attempt to prevent public criticism and protests.
In a Facebook post, Vijayan claimed that the court proceedings had exposed a contradiction between Chief Minister Satheesan’s public statements and the administration’s conduct.
According to Vijayan, Satheesan had recently told journalists that criticism directed at him was not significant enough to require removal from Facebook. The Chief Minister had also offered to approach Meta to help restore media pages blocked for criticising him.
Vijayan alleged that despite those assurances, the government was using official machinery to secure permanent restrictions on Facebook pages critical of its administration.
Referring to KIFA’s case, he pointed out that Meta had blocked the association’s page following instructions from the DGP concerning certain allegedly objectionable posts.
He maintained that the High Court’s intervention in the NoCap and KIFA cases demonstrated the need to protect democratic dissent.
Vijayan also compared the alleged restrictions to censorship during the Emergency and called for resistance against what he described as attempts to silence the media and critics through police action.
P Rajeev Questions Blocking of Farmers’ Association Page
Former Kerala minister and CPI(M) leader P Rajeev also criticised the government, arguing that the two High Court orders indicated official involvement in the blocking of the Facebook pages.
In a Facebook post, Rajeev said KIFA had frequently criticised the previous Left government, including its Chief Minister, Forest Minister and the wider LDF administration.
He pointed out that the association had subsequently congratulated the incoming UDF government while continuing to publish criticism of some of its decisions.
According to Rajeev, KIFA’s Facebook page was blocked after it began criticising the new administration.
Taking a political swipe at Satheesan, Rajeev remarked that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be merely a student compared with the Chief Minister in such matters.
He also invoked the UDF government’s Puthuyuga Keralam slogan, which forms part of its strategic and developmental vision, to criticise what he alleged was censorship under the new administration.
The controversy continues amid the CPI(M)’s allegations that the government has sought to restrict criticism through social media platforms, while the High Court’s orders have allowed both affected Facebook pages to resume operations.
