"Use Arratai": Supreme Court On Plea Over Blocked WhatsApp Account

Using WhatsApp is not a fundamental right, the Supreme Court observed recently, while rejecting a writ petition seeking restoration of access to petitioners' blocked accounts on the free messaging and video calling app.

"What is your fundamental right to have access to WhatsApp?" it asked the counsel appearing for the petitioners why they approached the top court directly with a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was told by the counsel for the petitioners that their WhatsApp, which they used to communicate with the customers, was blocked.

Senior counsel Mahalaxmi Pavani said that the petitioner, working at a clinic and a polydiagnostic centre, had been using WhatsApp for the past 10-12 years and communicating with their clients through it.

But suddenly the access to WhatsApp was blocked.

There are other communication applications; you can use them. Recently, there's this indigenous app called 'Arattai', use that. (It is) made in India," remarked Justice Mehta.

Arattai is an instant messaging app developed by Chennai-based Zoho Corporation.

When Justice Nath asked why the petitioner's WhatsApp account had been blocked, Pavani replied that they had not been given any reason.

The plea also sought pan-India guidelines "for governing the social media intermediaries with respect to suspension and blocking of accounts, ensuring due process, transparency and proportionality".

The counsel asked how their WhatsApp could be blocked without giving them any opportunity to respond.

"Without giving me any opportunity, they have just blocked it. Everything has come to a standstill", Pavani said.

"Is WhatsApp or the intermediary a state?" the bench asked.

When the counsel said "it is not", the bench observed that even a writ petition might not be maintainable before the high court.

The court allowed the petitioners to withdraw the plea and told them that they were free to seek any other remedy available in law before an appropriate forum. The bench observed that the petitioners may file a civil suit.

However, the lawyer pressed the court to ask WhatsApp to grant the petitioners access to their account. The top court refused to pass any such order.