The Delhi High Court was informed that the satirical X (formerly Twitter) account “Dr Nimo Yadav” has been blocked in India pursuant to a direction issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), citing concerns over “false narratives” involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The disclosure was made after X placed material before the Court, including a confidential blocking order dated March 18, which was shared with the Court and the petitioner, Prateek Sharma, who operates the account.

According to the government’s order, the account allegedly contained defamatory posts, including photographs, videos, and AI-manipulated content, which portrayed the Prime Minister in “bad taste” and questioned the government. The order further stated that dissemination of such content could impact public order and pose internal security concerns.

The matter is being heard by Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav in a petition filed by Sharma seeking production of the blocking order and redressal of his grievance. Sharma has contended that the continued blocking of his account has caused financial loss and disrupted his professional engagements, as the account serves as a source of livelihood.

During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner submitted that appropriate steps could be taken if specific offending content is identified. On the other hand, counsel for the Central Government sought time to ascertain whether any mechanism exists for effective consideration of the petitioner’s grievance.

Granting time to the government, the Court listed the matter for further hearing next week.

Appearances:

Advocates Vrinda Grover, Nakul Gandhi, Apar Gupta, Soutik Banerjee and Siddhi Sahoo appeared for the petitioner.

Advocate Ankit Parhar represented X, while the Union of India was represented through Advocate Avshreya Rudy.