The Delhi High Court has issued summons in a commercial suit filed by financial educator and entrepreneur Pushkar Raj Thakur, who has alleged that Meta's copyright enforcement mechanism was misused through manipulated copyright claims, leading to the removal of his original videos from social media platforms.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani took the plaint on record and directed the matter to proceed while recording interim assurances given by Meta during the hearing.
Background of the Case
According to the suit, Thakur alleged that unidentified entities manipulated Meta's Rights Manager system by using forged backdated timestamps to create false copyright claims over his original content. He claimed these allegedly fraudulent claims resulted in multiple videos being removed, causing financial losses and affecting his online reputation.
The suit also names Google LLC, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and other parties, while seeking restoration of content, removal of allegedly fraudulent accounts, and compensation for the losses claimed.
During the hearing, counsel appearing for Meta informed the Court that the company was willing to cooperate in preventing any unlawful removal of the plaintiff's content.
Recording the undertaking, the Bench observed that, "the plaintiff's videos will not be taken down on grounds of copyright strikes till the next date of hearing," while also noting that the plaintiff's account would not be suspended because of the disputed copyright strikes.
The Court further recorded Meta's assurance that removed videos would be restored once the relevant URLs were provided by the plaintiff.
The Court also permitted deletion of Telegram FZ LLC from the array of parties after submissions made during the hearing.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani issued summons in the commercial suit, recorded Meta's interim assurances regarding protection of the plaintiff's account and restoration of deleted videos, directed the plaintiff to file an amended memo of parties within one week, and listed the matter for further hearing on July 17, 2026.
Case Details
Case Title: Pushkar Raj Thakur v. John Doe/Ashok Kumar and Others
Case Number: CS(COMM) 647/2026, I.A. 15834/2026
Judge: Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani
Decision Date: July 1, 2026
