Writ petitions cannot be filed against X Corp, rules Delhi HC

Justice Narula made these observations while dismissing the plea filed by Sanchit Gupta, a professional holding a Law degree, against suspension of his account on X.

The Delhi High Court, on August 3, held that writ petitions cannot be filed against a social media platform like X, formerly Twitter, as it is not a wing of the State and does not discharge any government/ public functions.

According to a Bar and Bench report, Justice Sajeev Narula ruled that X essentially operates as a private entity and does not perform a public function or discharge a public duty even though it plays an important role in information dissemination and influencing public opinion.

“While ‘X’ plays a critical role in information dissemination and influencing public opinion, its core function is to provide a platform for expression—a service that has ‘public discourse’ as consequence, yet is private in operation. There is no directive, statutory or otherwise, from the government that delegates traditional state functions to ‘X’. The platform is not mandated to carry out public duties. ‘X’ is voluntary and user-driven, distinguishing it from entities that operate under a compulsion of law or provide services that are essential public utilities,” the Court said, as per the report.

Justice Narula made these observations while dismissing the plea filed by Sanchit Gupta, a professional holding a Law degree, against suspension of his account on X.

Gupta alleged that there was a breach of principles of natural justice, equity, and fairness, the report added.

He contended that he received notification from X that his account's monetization was stopped as his account was suspended. According to him, this was done without any prior show-cause notice, intimation, or warning.

Advocates Ankit Shah, Avneesh Kumar Upadhyaya, Megha Tyagi, Kriti Jain, and Tarun Arora appeared for Sanchit Gupta, the report further added.