On 2 April 2026, the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued notice on a petition filed by journalist Rattandeep Singh Dhaliwal, who challenged the removal of his Facebook pages and the imposition of copyright strikes for using photographs of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The court granted Dhaliwal liberty to approach the intermediary's grievance cell and the Appellate Authority, with the next hearing scheduled for 27 July 2026.According to Live Law, Dhaliwal's petition seeks to set aside punitive actions taken against his Facebook pages, “Rattandeep Singh Dhaliwal” and “Talk with Rattan,” and to reverse the intellectual property rights claims imposed on his accounts. He also requests restoration of his pages and all associated content.The petition states that Dhaliwal, an independent social media journalist, primarily reports on matters of public interest. Details provided indicate that on 9 October 2025, while reporting from Kaljharani village in Bhatinda, he uncovered alleged irregularities in public fund usage, which led to public criticism from the state government.Dhaliwal further submitted that on 16 January 2026, he interviewed an RTI activist regarding government advertisement expenditure, after which multiple intellectual property rights claims were initiated against his content. His Facebook page was removed on 27 February 2026, and he received official communication about the account's disabling on 10 March 2026 as the case progressed.Dhaliwal alleges that the copyright claims and punitive actions were a direct result of his disclosures regarding alleged internal irregularities. He maintains that his Facebook platforms, with over 3,24,000 and 1,94,000 followers respectively, regularly publish interviews and field reports. Coverage revealed that the complaints were shown as originating from Aam Aadmi Party, Punjab, through multiple email IDs and report numbers."A Chief Minister's public image cannot be converted into private intellectual property to silence reporting," the plea states.The petition argues that routine journalistic references to a sitting Chief Minister, including the use of publicly available images, should not be treated as proprietary intellectual property. Arguments presented highlight that such actions are constitutionally alarming and threaten press freedom.Dhaliwal claims he approached Meta Platforms' internal appellate mechanisms and filed multiple appeals, but the platform failed to provide reasoned replies and continued to impose restrictive actions, including further strikes and content suppression. The plea asserts that the copyright strikes were based solely on the use of photographs of the Chief Minister or related news in routine reporting as proceedings continued.The High Court, while issuing notice, stated that the petitioner is at liberty to approach the Grievance Officer and Appellate Authority, and that the Appellate Authority may adjudicate his appeal in accordance with law. Further developments are expected at the next hearing on 27 July 2026.Note: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.