The Karnataka High Court has postponed the hearing of a petition filed by X Corp—formerly known as Twitter—challenging the Indian government’s content takedown directives. These directives were issued under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act. The matter will now be heard on July 1, 2025.
Senior Advocate KG Raghavan, appearing on behalf of the Elon Musk-owned social media platform, requested the adjournment to allow time for filing amendments to the original petition. “The petitioner wants to file applications seeking amendments,” Raghavan informed the court. The government, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, did not object to the request and agreed to a hearing date after the court’s summer vacation.
As per the High Court’s order dated April 23, X Corp is required to submit its amended applications within two weeks, and must provide the government with an advance copy. The government will have three weeks to respond, following which X Corp will have another three weeks to file a rejoinder.
X Corp had originally filed its petition on March 5, challenging the government’s invocation of Section 79(3)(b), which revokes intermediary “safe harbour” protections if flagged content is not removed. The platform argued that this provision is being misused to bypass the more specific and structured procedure outlined in Section 69A, which governs content blocking. Section 69A includes due process safeguards such as written orders and an opportunity to be heard.
During the earlier hearing on April 3, X Corp’s counsel had asserted that Section 69A should be considered the exclusive legal mechanism for blocking content. “Section 69A is the repository of power for content blocking,” the advocate argued.
The case is part of a broader legal tussle between digital platforms and the Indian government as the latter seeks to tighten regulations over online content. These legal developments underscore the ongoing struggle to balance freedom of expression with national security and public order in the digital space.
