Delhi Police orders removal of digital rights groups' X accounts
IFF and SFLC file application in High Court against police order alleging defamation of RSS
By Capital Kranti desk, Gandhinagar · Editor: Parth Thakkar
6 November 2026, 1:25 am · Updated 1:31 pm · 4 min read
This story was written by AI from the sources listed below; every claim and number in it was checked against them before it went up. How we check
The Delhi Police has ordered the social media platform X to remove the accounts and posts of the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC). The Delhi Police alleges that these digital rights groups have defamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In this matter, both organisations representing digital rights filed an application in the Delhi High Court on Thursday, challenging the notice issued by the police to the X platform.
The Internet Freedom Foundation and the Software Freedom Law Center stated that the notice issued by the Delhi Police to the X platform includes orders to remove their accounts and posts. These organisations have sought the quashing of this notice from the court, as despite being informed by X, the Delhi Police has neither denied these requests nor withdrawn them. The Internet Freedom Foundation stated that due to the lack of an official denial or cancellation of the takedown notice issued by the Delhi Police, they were compelled to file a writ petition in the Delhi High Court. The matter has now been taken note of by the court.
The Software Freedom Law Center stated on social media that they had attempted to contact the Delhi Police to verify the authenticity of these notices, but received no confirmation from the police. They further added that many emails were returned as 'undeliverable' and they have not yet received any official response from the Delhi Police.
The entire controversy began on 29 October. The Internet Freedom Foundation, the Software Freedom Law Center, and an X account named 'Geo Blocked in India', which coordinates blocking orders in the country, received a legal notice in the name of the RSS. According to the Internet Freedom Foundation, this notice directed the three accounts to stop opposing government-issued blocking directives, documenting limited content, or posting details of geo-blocked posts. The notice also required assurance of compliance within one week. The notice was signed by an unnamed 'authorised signatory'.
Interestingly, some office bearers of the RSS clarified on X that this notice was not authentic. The Internet Freedom Foundation responded to this notice and wrote to the official address of the RSS asking whether they had authorised this notice. The Foundation published both the notice and its response on 30 October.
Subsequently, on 30 October, the Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) filed an 'illegal content report' with the X platform. This report listed the posts made by the Internet Freedom Foundation and the Software Freedom Law Center on that day and alleged defamation of the RSS under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. According to the Internet Freedom Foundation, boxes for 'Safety/Security', 'Defamation', and 'Other' were ticked in this content report, but the fields for the type of court order and details of the court order were left blank. The requested action in this report was written as 'remove/withhold content'.
In this sequence of events, another notice was sent in the name of the RSS on 1 November. According to the Internet Freedom Foundation, this second notice stated that the matter had been entrusted to the All India Advocate Council and complaints had been filed in various states. Additionally, a request was made to block the Internet Freedom Foundation's X account and suspend the organisations. The All India Advocate Council is an organisation of lawyers associated with the RSS.
On Tuesday, the digital rights groups stated that the X platform had sent them copies of the two takedown orders issued by the police. They also issued a warning that if the police do not withdraw these notices, the organisations will challenge the matter in court. No information has been received yet regarding the response from the Delhi Police, the RSS, or its affiliated organisation, the All India Advocate Council.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a large organisation in India and is the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
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