New Delhi, Feb 9: The Supreme Court on Monday deferred to February 23 the hearing on pleas filed by Meta Platforms Inc and WhatsApp challenging a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order imposing a penalty of ₹213.14 crore over the messaging platform’s privacy policy.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N V Anjaria was informed that senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing in the matter, was unwell, following which the hearing was adjourned. The bench said it would take up the pleas for passing an interim order on February 23.
The court also allowed a litigant, represented by senior advocate Arvind Datar, to be impleaded as a party in the case.
Earlier, on February 3, the bench had made strong observations against Meta Platforms Inc and WhatsApp, stating that they could not “play with the right to privacy of citizens in the name of data sharing.” The court had also alleged that the companies were creating a monopoly in the market and engaging in the theft of users’ private information.
Criticising WhatsApp’s privacy policy, the bench referred to “silent customers” who are unorganised, digitally dependent and unaware of the implications of data-sharing policies, asserting that the rights of citizens would not be allowed to be compromised. WhatsApp is owned by Meta Platforms Inc.
The apex court is hearing appeals filed by the two tech companies against a CCI order that imposed a penalty of ₹213.14 crore over the privacy policy. On November 4, 2025, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had set aside a portion of the CCI order that barred WhatsApp from sharing data with Meta for advertising purposes for five years, while retaining the penalty.
Subsequently, the NCLAT clarified that its ruling on privacy and consent safeguards would also apply to user data collection and sharing for non-WhatsApp purposes, including both advertising and non-advertising uses.
The Supreme Court had earlier indicated that it would pass an interim order on February 9 and directed that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology be impleaded as a party in the appeals. The bench is also hearing a cross-appeal filed by the CCI challenging the NCLAT decision allowing continued data sharing for advertising purposes.(Agencies)
