Former SCBA President Takes Legal Action Against WhatsApp for Account Suspension, ETLegalWorld
Former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President and senior advocate Adish C Aggarwala has approached the Delhi High Court difficult the sudden and unilateral suspension of his WhatsApp accounts, alleging that the platform’s motion has violated his basic rights and crippled his skilled functioning.
In his writ petition filed below Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, Aggarwala has assailed the arbitrary deactivation of his WhatsApp numbers, contending that the suspension was executed with none prior discover, present trigger, or alternative to retrieve his private {and professional} knowledge.
The petition says this included authorized drafts, briefing notes, communications, Bar Council election materials, and confidential case-related paperwork.
The petition states that the suspension occurred throughout a vital interval when Aggarwala was engaged in worldwide conferences in Bangkok, London, Dubai, and different jurisdictions, severely hampering his skilled duties and honest participation in ongoing election-related actions. He submits that WhatsApp’s motion violates his rights below Articles 14, 19(1)(a), 19(1)(g), and 21.
Citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in KS Puttaswamy v. Union of India, the petition states that entry to private communications types a part of a person’s dignity, autonomy, and privateness. The denial of entry to years {of professional} knowledge, the plea argues, quantities to an unreasonable restriction on his proper to practise his occupation.
Aggarwala has additionally identified that WhatsApp didn’t appoint a Grievance Officer in India and didn’t set up any mechanism for well timed acknowledgement of complaints, as required below regulation. Despite repeated emails and a private go to by his consultant to WhatsApp’s Gurugram workplace on 13 October, no response was obtained.
The petition additional highlights that the Union of India has not but constituted the Data Protection Board, depriving customers of statutory cures below the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. This, Aggarwala contends, has left him with no different however to hunt pressing intervention from the High Court. (ANI)
