Karnataka HC reserves verdict in X vs Union Govt case on Sahyog Portal, Section 79

The Karnataka High Court on July 29 reserved its judgment in the X Corp (formerly Twitter) vs Union of India case, where the microblogging platform has challenged the legality of the government's Sahyog Portal and its interpretation of Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act.

Senior Advocate KG Raghavan, appearing for X Corp, said the government's argument that Section 79 is a source of power for takedown orders would “create chaos,” especially when **Section 69A, was already in place.

“To now say that 79 is a source of power will create chaos. Government is saying there is some loophole in 69A, therefore we will go to 79,” he told the bench.

Appearing after Raghavan, Senior Advocate Aditya Sondhi, appearing for media body Digipub, criticised the government’s use of extreme examples to justify the Sahyog Portal.

“The SG (solicitor general Tushar Mehta) placed extreme illustrations to drive home the need to bring such a portal. Extreme examples cannot be used to make law,” he said.

He added that the term **‘unlawful act’ has not defined in any law and that any definition has to passed by legislature, not open to executive's interpretation.

The government informed the court that it intends to file additional written submissions in response to new arguments raised in the rejoinders.