The Tamil Nadu Police Department has sent X (formerly Twitter) two notices to remove tweets mocking the state government, Chief Minister MK Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. These notices were sent on April 23, 2025, under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, a contested provision.
The notices are part of the annexures that X filed as part of its lawsuit challenging the use of Section 79(3)(b) by different central ministries and state police departments to issue online content takedown orders.
Tamil Nadu is one of the four states, along with Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal, to have sent such notices. Among central agencies, the Railways Ministry and the I4C have also sent similar notices to X. For instance, on January 6 and January 8, I4C sent two notices to X against a total of three tweets for “disseminating fake and AI-generated content/manipulated media” targeting Chairman of International Cricket Council, Jay Shah. The tweets showed photoshopped images of Shah with Kavya Maran, the owner of the Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL team, and daughter of Kalanithi Maran.
Ruling governments across the country – irrespective of the political parties or ideologies – are using the contested provision to get uncomfortable and critical content removed.
X, in its lawsuit filed in March, had contended that the Section 79(3)(b) content takedown process – which the government’s Sahyog portal has sought to streamline – sets up a parallel blocking process that is devoid of the legal and procedural safeguards built into the Section 69A blocking process. This process has been in force since 2009 and has been upheld by the Supreme Court in the 2015 Shreya Singhal judgement.
The platform argued that Section 79(3)(b), read along with Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, allows thousands of police and executive officers across the country to order takedowns against content that violated “any law”. This provision, X says, goes beyond the grounds of restricting free speech under Article 19(2) of the Indian Constitution.
In the same case, X has also challenged the constitutionality of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre’s (I4C) new portal, Sahyog, which X calls the “Censorship Portal”.
The content targeted by the state and central agencies includes tweets by news portals, opposition leaders and party accounts, and those by general citizens.
X said that these takedown orders direct “blocking of legitimate criticism of public officials; commentary about social and political issues, parody content; information about the suffering and exploitation of women, and political speech.”
X has made it clear that it wouldn’t challenge these blocking orders in the ongoing lawsuits but is using them to give context about the “unconstitutional consequences” of the government’s actions.
While the notices by the four state police departments were sent in 2025, some of the concerned tweets were posted in 2023.
Critical content is ‘sensitive’ content: Greater Chennai Police
The Greater Chennai Police, in two notices dated April 23, directed X to remove a total of 18 tweets in response to two complaints that alleged that the X users had posted “highly sensitive” images and videos.
These included a cartoon posted by News J, a news channel run by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK); a tweet by the official BJP Tamil Nadu account on the state government’s promises on the NEET exam; and a cartoon posted by a BJP functionary criticising the state government’s handling of the Anna University sexual assault case.
It also included other tweets either criticising or mocking the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government and Chief Minister MK Stalin.
Both notices alleged that the content was “false, provocative” and could “incite political tensions, thereby threatening the harmony, sovereignty, public peace, and order within the state.”
They also said the content was “deeply offensive to a particular community, causing social unrest and distress” and its removal was “crucial to maintaining public order and upholding the rule of law in the state.”
One of the tweets that the police want removed is a reply to a post by then BJP state president K Annamalai. On January 2, 2025, Annamalai had posted about the sexual assault of an Anna University student.
In response, one Selvakumar associated with the BJP, as per his profile picture, posted a cartoon showing women protesting against a blindfolded Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, whose mouth is taped shut. A placard in a woman’s hand read “Anna University student sexually assaulted,” as per the translation given by police to X.
An upside-down, black-and-white logo of DMK is stamped with the word “Failed” in the top right corner of the cartoon. Selvakumar’s tweet itself read in Tamil, as per the police, said, “#ThievishDMK #thigh shaking.”
Another tweet by a user called @Neethiman3, posted on January 3, read in Tamil (translated by the police using Grok): “Kidnapping, robbery, sexual offender, DMK Saidapet student wing deputy leader Gnanasekaran is being protected, efforts by party bigwigs!”
Earlier this month, the lone convict in the Anna University sexual assault case, Gnanasekar, was sentenced to life imprisonment for a minimum period of 30 years without remission. While the BJP and AIADMK had alleged that the convict was linked to the ruling DMK, the DMK had said that he was not even a primary member of the party.
Another tweet the police wanted removed is a cartoon posted by NewsJ. It showed Modi and Stalin around a red dinosaur called ‘price rise’, where Modi is claiming ten years of growth and Stalin is claiming 43 months of support. Another cited tweet by the channel asked why Stalin had secretly met businessperson Gautam Adani.
The police have also asked for the takedown of a tweet by the AIADMK handle where they posted a video of Udhayanidhi Stalin’s older interviews where he said he need not become a politician or minister just because he came from a political family. The tweet called him a liar after he was elevated as the Deputy Chief Minister.
Another tweet that the police sought to remove said, “The unsolved mysteries of the DMK regime,” where it referred to the Vengaivayal water tank case (where human faeces was dumped into an overhead tank that supplied drinking water to 20-odd SC families in the village), NEET, Stalin’s Dubai trip and the murder of Nellai Congress leader Jayakumar.
X said that despite citing a threat to sovereignty and public order, which are Section 69A grounds, the police used Section 79(3)(b) to “stifle free speech about an issue of public interest”. It also said that some of the tweets, such as News J’s November 2024 tweet about Stalin and Adani, were innocuous.
For specified X handles – including those of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu, News J, and political cartoonist G Balakrishnan – the police want X to preserve all tweets and related metadata from September 1, 2024 to April 23, 2025. For this period, the police have also asked X for the IP logs of the users, mobile numbers and email addresses linked to the account, and the IMEI numbers of mobile devices used to post the tweets.
Meanwhile, I4C, which had sent a notice to X on the Jay Shah tweets, claimed that it was misleading and defamatory and would disturb public order.
“These URLs are circulating misleading captions questioning the relationship between Jay Shah and Kavya Maran. Given the defamatory nature of the content, which aims to tarnish the reputation of a well-known personality and his family, it has the potential to provoke public outrage and disturb public order,” the notice said.
Calling state home minister ‘useless’ hurts sentiments, says Maha police
On January 4, the Satara Cyber Police Station of Maharashtra sent X a takedown order under Section 79(3)(b) and sought information about an account under Section 94 of the BNSS (summons to produce document).
The two-year-old tweet in question, posted by one “Radhey” (@Vish_9009) on August 28, 2023, was a reply that read in Marathi: “A useless Home Minister has been bestowed upon Maharashtra .”
This user’s tweet was a response to a video posted the same day by Mumbai Tak, the Marathi digital channel of the India Today group. The video showed a woman being kicked and beaten with sticks, while the tweet read in Marathi, “Woman beaten with sticks and kicks in Satara, video will make you angry #satara #crime.”
The police said that the user’s profile had “hurt the sentiments” and used “highly critical and abusive language.”
“This post and content are likely to create serious communal tension among the citizens, and the possibility of creating a serious law and order situation cannot be ruled out,” the police said, even as they acknowledged that the content was circulated in August 2023.
The police directed X to furnish information, including mobile number and email address linked to the handle, on a ‘super urgent’ basis.
The notice did not specify the law or provision under which the tweet was illegal. It also cited the 2011 Intermediary Guidelines. To be sure, these rules had been superseded by the IT Rules, 2021.
The notice also warned X of liability under Section 85 of the IT Act, which holds companies and their senior officers liable for contravention of the Act.
In its rejoinder, X said that the reasons cited in the police order – communal tension and law and order situation – are Section 69A (public order). Despite this, the police used Section 79(3)(b).
“The police issued this to stifle free speech and expression merely because it mentions the Home Minister, who is the political head of the police department. It is no surprise that the police will issue these notices because they report to the political head of the police department,” X said.
Mockingly showing WB CM as astronaut harms the office’s dignity
On March 20, the ADG and IGP of West Bengal cyber cell sent X a Section 79(3)(b) takedown notice to get “misleading content” related to the West Bengal CM, Mamata Banerjee.
The March 19, 2025, tweet in question, posted by BJP leader and advocate Koustav Bagchi, showed an edited image of Banerjee posing for an official photograph as an astronaut in a spacewalking suit with the helmet in her hands, with the American flag in the background. Alongside the image, Bagchi had tweeted in Bengali, “I also have studies in space science.”
The police, in their notice, said that this tweet was “harmful to the reputation of the Chief Minister and the dignity of the office” and posed risks to “public safety and national security.” The police sought the tweet’s removal “in the interest of maintaining peace and tranquillity” as it “threatens public harmony and the integrity of public discourse.”
The police order also cited Section 353(1) of the BNS which carries a prison term of up to three years and/or a fine for making statements that can cause fear or alarm in the public, make public commit crimes against the state or public tranquillity, or incite a community to act against another community.
“No reasonable person would possibly construe this meme as sensitive, misleading or a risk to public safety and national security,” X said in its rejoinder. It said that the claimed grounds are Section 69A, and yet the necessary process was not followed.
Give details including deleted data: Bihar Police
On April 9, the Bihar police sent a takedown notice against three tweets and sought details of a user after a complaint was filed against one “Deepak Kumar” for spreading “false and misleading information” about the district magistrate of West Champaran district. The police, while directing X to act within 72 hours as per IT Rules, 2021, also directed X to preserve details of the account.
In the three tweets, dated November 26 and 30 of 2023, and October 6, 2024, Kumar had claimed that Dinesh Kumar Rai, then the DM of West Champaran (Bettiah), had sought the support of a goon named Kamlesh Rai, as his wife was to contest election from Karghar, Bihar, in 2025.
In their takedown notice, the police cited Section 356 of the BNS, which deals with defamation. “It cannot be denied that such objectionable posts are tarnishing the image of a person holding a constitutional post, whereas he is the District Magistrate of Bettiah district.”
In the notice sent via Sahyog portal, these tweets were characterised as “hateful conduct, violent threats or incitement.”
The police asked X for details about the registration of the user, log details, recent access details (including IP address and GPS location) and “all details and data of the contents ever circulated and shared,” including deleted content.
X, on the other hand, said that the order sought countrywide blocking of two-year-old tweets “that discuss a public official’s association with another person, relating to a matter of public interest.”
The Bihar police reminded X that non-compliance could lead to loss of safe harbour granted under Section 79 of the IT Act and make the company liable under Section 84B of the IT Act. It said that non-compliance with Section 94 of BNSS directions was a punishable offence under Section 210 (omitting to produce document or electronic record to public servant) of the BNS.
I4C has issued 426 takedown notices in a year
The Union Home Ministry’s I4C issued 426 notices under Section 79(3)(b) affecting 1,10,718 links, accounts, and groups between March 20, 2024 and March 20 this year, as per the Union government’s statement of objections filed in the Karnataka High Court. Reasons ranged from national security to obscenity to misinformation to “tarnishing” to disharmony.
While WhatsApp faced the highest volume of takedowns with 78 notices affecting 83,673 accounts and groups – 75 percent of all content targeted –primarily for trading scams, law enforcement impersonation, and offensive content, X received 66 notices targeting 802 links, though the court documents revealed 68 notices affecting 1,083 links, HT had reported.
Of the 66 notices sent to X, 36 notices – covering 809 links – were sent during the general elections (March-June 2024), with many targeting Congress and AAP accounts for content about Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s reservation stance.
Many of I4C’s notices – such as those related to Khalistani content – dealt with content threatening the national security of India. Yet, the agency did not refer them to the IT Ministry’s Section 69A blocking committee, a fact that X has raised in its rejoinder filed on June 26. In the past, online content related to the Khalistan referendum and the movement was always blocked via the Section 69A process of the IT Ministry.
On July 9, I4C sent one link to X where it had identified a deepfake video of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman making “potentially misleading regarding the GST/Income Tax system,” and “derogatory remarks” meant to “demean” her and the Indian government.
This tweet has been withheld in India, but on accessing it using a VPN, TNM saw that the tweet was a two-minute 16-second-long video with a deepfake of Sitharaman calling GST “Gupta/Gopniya soochna tax” (confidential information tax) in a supposed press conference. Elsewhere in the world, this tweet has been marked as “manipulated media” by X.
Remove stampede videos: Railways Ministry
The Ministry of Railways has sent at least seven content takedown notices to X, YouTube and Instagram under Section 79(3)(b), targeting videos ranging from overcrowded Maha Kumbh Special trains to train vandalism incidents to stampede at the New Delhi Railway station.
In February, the Railways Ministry directed X to remove 285 social media links containing videos of casualties from the February 15 New Delhi Railway Station stampede, HT had reported.
The Ministry had also sent notices to YouTube and Instagram in January targeting content containing “misleading and sensitive/provocative information” that could “create an unwarranted law and order situation”.
Digipub News India Foundation and Newslaundry co-founder Abhinandan Sekhri filed an intervention application in June to join the lawsuit against the provision and the portal, The Tech Trace reported. X also sought to expand the scope of its lawsuit and challenged the constitutionality of Rule 3(1)(d) of both the IT Rules and the Sahyog portal, The Tech Trace reported.
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