High Court orders to delete Facebook or quit Army
New Delhi : The Delhi High Court has declined to provide any interim relief to a senior Army officer who recently challenged the new rule that bars use of Facebook and Instagram by the Army officials on duty. The court asked him to either follow the guideline or put in his papers.
The High Court asked him to make a choice if he wants to leave Facebook or Indian Army. It said he can create a new social media account later.
A bench of Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Asha Menon said that when it has not even found a reason yet to entertain the plea, "the question of granting any interim relief does not arise. Especially when the matter has the potential of concerning the safety and security of the country," the bench said.
Lieutenant Colonel P K Choudhary, however, mentioned that if he deletes his account from the social media then he will lose all his data and it would be impossible for him to retrace it.
"No. No. Sorry. You please delete it. You can always create a new one. It cannot work like this. You are part of an organisation. You have to abide by its mandate," the bench said.
It further said, "If you are so dear to FB, then put in your papers. See you have to make a choice, what do you want to do. You have other choices which are also irreversible."
The army officer had sought an interim relief that he be allowed to retain his Facebook (FB) account in deactivated form till the next date of hearing when the court will decide whether to entertain his petition after going through the Army's policy under challenge.
