New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, June 25, restrained the sharing of any objectionable material related to a minor girl on social media after unknown entities created her fake Instagram accounts and circulated her morphed photos.

Justice Manoj Jain directed social media intermediary Meta Platforms Inc, which owns Instagram, to provide to the minor’s family the basic subscriber information of those persons who have created the fake accounts.

“The plaintiff (minor victim) has been able to make out a prima facie case for grant of injunction and an irreparable harm or loss will be caused to her in case no ex parte ad interim injunction is granted to her. Further, balance of convenience also lies in favour of the plaintiff, and against the defendants,” the court said.

Those who created the fake accounts were accordingly restrained from uploading any further objectionable material, actual or morphed, of the minor victim till the next hearing.

Aside from ordering to provide basic subscriber information of URLs, including IP details of those who created the fake accounts, the court further directed Meta to block them.

The court posted the hearing on July 4.

A plea in relation to a 15-year-old girl alleged invasion of her right to privacy for her photos, including actual and morphed ones were circulated on Instagram by unknown persons.

According to the minor, they had created her fake accounts on the social media platform and despite best efforts, their true identities and particulars were unavailable to the girl or her guardians.

Her counsel contended that the accounts were being anonymously maintained.

The plea said an innocuous acceptance of some friend request received by the minor victim led to the situation where the fake accounts were created using her details, indicating a clear and deliberate act of impersonation.

The defendants, the plea said, used the girl’s obscene pictures, including the morphed ones, were previously obtained through deceit and coercion to blackmail.