Social media company X (formerly Twitter) has contested the Indian government’s directive to block the account of Hindutva Watch, citing insufficient justification, in a submission to the Delhi High Court filed on September 24.
The social media platform said the ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity) failed to specify reasons for the January 15 blocking order issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
In the submission, seen by HT, the company said it had raised objections during a January 10 meeting with the government’s blocking committee, arguing that blocking the entire account was disproportionate. The company sent a formal objection letter on January 30.
The submission was part of X’s affidavit in a petition filed by Hindutva Watch to overturn the blocking order.
Raqib Hameed Naik, the organisation’s founder, filed a writ petition in Delhi High Court in April, challenging the blocking order and requesting the findings of the Review Committee, which is mandated to review all blocking orders under the 2009 Blocking Rules.
The X account says it archives attacks against religious minorities in India and its account, including an associated India Hate Lab website, have been blocked in the country since January 16.
{{/usCountry}}The X account says it archives attacks against religious minorities in India and its account, including an associated India Hate Lab website, have been blocked in the country since January 16.
{{/usCountry}}X argued that Naik’s petition against the company should be dismissed, asserting that it is not “the State” under Article 12 of the Indian Constitution and does not perform a public function as defined in Article 226. The company maintained that it merely complied with Meity’s order and that court directives should be aimed at the ministry.
Section 69A allows the government to block online content for six specific reasons, including national security and public order. X contended that the posts cited by Meity did not fall under any of these categories.
In the January 10 meeting, X representatives argued that Hindutva Watch posted “newsworthy content” related to India that could not be considered inciteful.
X also disputed Naik’s assertion that “detailed justification related to the blocking of the said account and blocking order is already shared with the intermediary”.
X supported Hindutva Watch’s argument that the government had Naik’s contact details before issuing the blocking order, as Meity contacted the organisation on January 19 using a publicly available email address.
The company refuted Naik’s claim of contacting X’s grievance officer under the Information Technology Rules, 2021.
X deemed the government’s February 6 email to Naik “invalid and insufficient”, stating it did not provide all specific allegations and grounds for blocking the entire account.