Mumbai Police issued a legal notice to X (formerly Twitter) on October 18, 2026, demanding the removal of 24 posts related to a video essay on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and businessman Gautam Adani. The notice followed YouTube's block of the 34-minute video created by Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia. The Cyber Police Station in Mumbai's West Region, under the Crime Branch of the CID, addressed the notice to X's offices in San Francisco and Mumbai, citing violations under the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Inspector of Police Sandeep Patil issued the notice under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, stating that the posts contained "false, misleading, and disparaging statements" about a "well-known company." The notice did not mention Modi or Adani by name but focused on the reputational harm caused to the company. It also cited breaches of X's platform rules and sections 352 and 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which pertain to criminal defamation, and requested X to remove or disable access to the specified posts.
This legal action follows YouTube's earlier decision to block the video essay, highlighting ongoing tensions around content related to prominent political and business figures in India. The invocation of both the IT Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections demonstrates the authorities' approach to regulating online speech and addressing alleged misinformation. The case underscores the challenges social media platforms face in balancing content moderation with legal compliance in India.
The notice was officially issued on October 18, 2026, by Mumbai Police's Cyber Police Station, with enforcement directed at X's offices in both San Francisco and Mumbai, marking a significant instance of cross-border legal requests for content removal on social media platforms.