The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday scheduled April 24 for the final hearing in Elon Musk-owned X Corp's (formerly Twitter) challenge against certain provisions of the IT Act. The court granted X two weeks to file a rejoinder to the Union of India's objections.
A major point of contention during the hearing on April 3 was the government's insistence that X register on the Sahyog portal.
Senior advocate KG Raghavan, representing X, argued that the platform was being "compelled" to join what he called a "censorship portal." He maintained that such a requirement could not be imposed on intermediaries.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, countered that all intermediaries operating in India must follow local regulations. "Joining a portal is not something so grave," he said.
Justice M Nagaprasanna, presiding over the case, clarified that the interim order protecting X would remain in place until the matter is concluded.
He assured the platform that it could approach the court if any action was taken against it in the meantime.
The hearing also saw arguments over Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and its relation to Section 69A. As per the section, an intermediary can lose its safe harbour, a provision that protects platforms from liability for third-party content, if it fails to block access when informed by the government.
Raghavan argued that under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, platforms like X cannot be expected to determine the legality of every post. He pointed out that the Supreme Court had clarified that "actual knowledge" in this context means a court order, not the platform’s own assessment.
He questioned whether new IT Rules could extend blocking powers beyond what is permitted under Section 69A.
Additionally, Raghavan objected to two annexures—R15 and R16—submitted by the government, calling them "disturbing" and requesting their removal.
These documents reportedly included notices issued to X by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and a list of allegedly unlawful content on the platform, including references to the Maha Kumbh.
While Mehta offered to withdraw two other annexures, he maintained that R15 and R16 should be considered in the final hearing. The court will take up the matter for final arguments on April 24 at 12 pm.
On March 17, Elon Musk-owned X filed a legal petition in the Karnataka High Court, arguing that the Indian government’s use of Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and the Sahyog Portal create an unlawful and unregulated censorship mechanism that bypasses statutory safeguards.
In its petition, X Corp contended that the government is misinterpreting Section 79(3)(b) to issue takedown orders that do not adhere to the procedures prescribed under Section 69A, which the Supreme Court has recognised as the only valid legal framework for blocking online content (Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, 2015), the petition said.
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