The government is treating the removal as a serious compliance lapse under the IT Rules governing how platforms handle government and user content. The summons has gone out to Meta’s global public policy chief, with the company’s Instagram head also learnt to be under the ministry’s scanner over the same episode. The IT Rules require significant social media intermediaries to act with due diligence, maintain grievance redressal mechanisms, and avoid arbitrary removal of lawful content. Summoning a global head of public policy, rather than a domestic compliance officer, points to the government wanting answers at a level where platform-wide decisions are actually made. The ministry has not yet indicated whether it plans to formally record statements from the executives or simply seek a written explanation.