Instagram Account Permanently Disabled Falsely in India — Legal Remedies and How to Fight Back

Priya Nair, a content creator based in Kochi, had spent nearly six years building an Instagram account with close to 16,000 followers. She posted regularly on lifestyle and wellness topics, had steady brand collaborations, and relied on the platform as a meaningful part of her professional identity. Around 18 March 2025, her account was abruptly and permanently disabled. The reason shown on the app: "fake account." No detailed explanation was given. When she contacted the platform's support channels, she was told the decision was final and that no further review was possible, citing "privacy reasons" for refusing to explain further.

What made it worse? In the months before the ban, multiple deepfake accounts impersonating Priya had appeared on the platform. She had reported each of them. None were removed. Her own account, however, was taken down.

She tried creating a fresh account. Also suspended within two days, under the same "fake account" label. By then she'd spent weeks attempting to resolve things herself, writing to the platform's support email repeatedly without any substantive response. A general-practice lawyer she initially consulted was unfamiliar with the IT Act's grievance mechanism framework and sent a letter that went unacknowledged.

She then approached Advocate Sudhir Rao. A formal legal notice was issued to the Grievance Officer of the intermediary under Rule 3 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. A complaint was simultaneously filed before the Appellate Committee established under the same Rules. The structured, procedurally grounded approach produced a concrete response from the platform within weeks — something that months of unassisted effort had not achieved.

You can read about this case in detail at https://sudhirrao.com/instagram-account-permanently-disabled-falsely-india-legal-r/