The Union government has told the Delhi High Court that X could lose its safe harbour protection for failing to remove “highly derogatory” tweets posted by journalist Rana Ayyub, despite court orders and police notices.

In a submission before Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, the Centre said the platform had received “actual knowledge” of the content through judicial orders and statutory notices issued by the Delhi Police in September and December last year. However, it allegedly failed to act on requests to take down tweets posted between 2013 and 2017.

The government argued that such inaction violates due diligence requirements under the Information Technology Rules. It added that “the protection of safe harbour available to the intermediary… is liable to be withdrawn” under Section 79(1) of the IT Act if compliance is not ensured. Kerala Police Book X, Social Media User Over ‘Misleading’ AI Video on PM Narendra Modi, Election Commission.

Petition And Allegations

The case stems from a petition filed by advocate Amita Sachdeva, who alleged that the tweets “insulted Hindu deities and revered historical figures.” Acting on her complaint, a local court had directed the registration of an FIR in December, observing that the posts prima facie disclosed cognisable offences under the Indian Penal Code.

Sachdeva also told the court that the continued availability of the tweets has caused “continuing and direct injury” to her religious sentiments and violated her fundamental rights under Articles 21 and 25 of the Constitution. X Sahyog Portal Controversy: Centre Strongly Objects to Elon Musk’s Platform for Characterising ‘Sahyog’ As “Censorship Portal’, Files Objection in Karnataka HC.

X’s Response In Court

Responding to the Centre’s claims, X argued that the government should either direct the “originator” to delete the tweets or follow the legal blocking process under Section 69A of the IT Act. The platform stated that it had already shared the requested information with authorities and maintained that “any direction to take down the tweets should go to her and not the platform.”

X further contended that the petition was not maintainable against it unless due procedure was followed.

Court Observations And Next Hearing

Earlier, on April 8, the High Court had described the tweets as “highly derogatory, inflammatory and communal” while seeking a response from Ayyub.

The court has now granted her time to file a reply and listed the matter for further hearing on May 19. The case raises key questions around intermediary liability, compliance with IT Rules, and the limits of safe harbour protection for social media platforms operating in India.

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 11, 2026 11:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).