The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Union of India and Punjab on a petition by an independent social media journalist for setting aside the punitive actions taken against his Facebook pages.Directions were also sought for setting aside Intellectual Property Rights claims imposed on his accounts. Restoration of his pages, along with the contents, was also sought.Justice Jagmohan Bansal made it clear that petitioner Rattandeep Singh Dhaliwal, in the meantime, was at liberty to approach the grievance officer as well as the appellate authority.“The Appellate Authority may adjudicate his appeal in accordance with law,” the court added, while issuing notice of motion on his plea for July 27.Claiming himself to be an independent social media journalist reporting on issues of public interest, Dhaliwal added that the action followed his on-ground reportage in October 2025 at a Bathinda village, where he allegedly unearthed irregularities/misuse of public funds, and a January 2026 interview of an RTI activist concerning expenditure of Rs 785 crore on advertisements.According to the plea, multiple IPR claims were initiated in February 2026 “against his content”, culminating in the removal of his Facebook page on February 27 and the formal intimation of account disabling on March 10.“IPR claims and punitive actions against his Facebook page are a result of disclosure made by him regarding alleged internal irregularities,” it was alleged.On advance notice, counsel appearing for the Union of India and the State of Punjab accepted notice and sought time to file replies and address arguments. The matter will now be taken up on July 27.