As arbitrary takedowns and blocking continue in India, two independent journalists approached the Delhi High Court seeking relief over the blocking of an Instagram reel about Google’s under-construction AI data center in Andhra Pradesh. MediaNama had access to the petition filed with Delhi HC.

Journalists Shamsheer Yousaf and Monica Jha filed the writ petition on June 30, seeking restoration of the 2:01-minute reel, which remains inaccessible in India without a VPN at the time of writing this report.  

While hearing the case on June 2, the Delhi HC asked these respondents to file their counter-affidavit within the next two weeks and listed the matter for July 23, 2026. 

The petition names the following ministries and stakeholders: 

  • Ministry of Electronics and IT, 
  • Ministry of Home Affairs, and 
  • Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and 
  • Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO) Special Cell, and 
  • Meta (Instagram).

Which types of content do law enforcement authorities restrict from public access?

As MediaNama reported on May 25, 2026, Instagram geo-restricted this reel, which featured interviews with four residents of Tarluvada village in Visakhapatnam district, where Google is building its largest data centre outside the US.

The reel was co-posted with the accounts of the Environmental Reporting Collective (@ercinvestigates) and the Dirty Data project (@dirtydata.earth), an international investigative collaboration examining the impact of AI-driven data centre construction. The original reel is available here. You can watch the now-blocked reel here: [ Link submitted to Delhi HC | Archived at MediaNama ]

The reel was an edited extract of a longer 5:06-minute video report, which remains live on Instagram and YouTube in India. The petition questions why only the shorter reel was blocked while the longer versions remain available.

Quick reminder: Meta also removed a reel and a post uploaded by Andhra Pradesh’s Human Rights Forum advocating for environmental and human rights concerns. You can view the now-blocked content here: [ Original reel & archived reel | Original post & screenshots post ]

A short timeline of events after the blocking order:

  • On May 22, Yousaf discovered the block through a notice on his own account, which stated only that the Government of India / Law Enforcement had restricted access ‘pursuant to a notice under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000’.
  • On May 25, he wrote to MeitY and to Meta’s grievance officer, seeking the blocking order, reasons, restoration and a personal hearing. 
  • Meta sent an automated acknowledgment with a complaint number the same day. According to the petition, MeitY has not responded.

What are the core arguments? 

  • The petitioners argue this violates the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, which upheld Section 79(3)(b) only on the condition that blocking…

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Last Update: July 7, 2026