Impostor posing as Delhi Police sought takedown of IFF, SFLC accounts, X tells HC

The notice purportedly sent by the Delhi Police to social media platform X, seeking the removal of posts and accounts belonging to digital rights organisations including the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), has turned out to be fake. X informed the Delhi High Court on Friday, November 6, that the notices were sent by an impostor impersonating the Delhi Police.

The platform told the court that it had filed a police complaint to identify the person responsible for sending the fake notices. X also clarified that no action had been taken against IFF and SFLC based on the purported requests.

The development comes a day after IFF and SFLC approached the Delhi High Court on November 5, challenging the takedown notices that X had forwarded to them on November 3. The notices allegedly sought the removal of 37 posts and the accounts of IFF, SFLC and GeoBlockedIndia over allegations of criminal defamation against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The controversy began on October 29, when the three digital rights entities received legal notices purportedly issued on behalf of the RSS. The notices asked them to stop documenting government content-blocking orders and opposing restrictions on online content.

According to a report by Scroll, the legal notices were sent from an email address that was likely created just six hours before the emails were dispatched. The notices were purportedly signed by a lawyer named Gaurav Tiwari, who claimed to be acting on the instructions and authority of the RSS.

However, the RSS did not officially confirm having issued the notices. Several people associated with the organisation also denied that it had sent them.

Scroll reported that the Delhi Police had also denied sending the subsequent illegal content reports to X. A police official told the publication that the communication purportedly sent by the Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal, was itself fabricated and had originated from a fake email address impersonating an official Delhi Police account.

X had informed IFF on November 3 that it had received two notices purportedly from the Delhi Police, on October 31 and November 2. The notices alleged that posts by the organisations were defamatory towards the RSS.

The first notice, submitted on October 31, identified two posts published by IFF and SFLC on October 30 concerning the legal notice purportedly issued on behalf of the RSS. The second notice, submitted on November 2, listed 40 URLs, including 37 individual posts and the accounts of IFF, SFLC and GeoBlockedIndia.

IFF had questioned the legality of the notices, pointing out that criminal defamation under Section 356 of the BNS is a non-cognisable offence. It argued that the police could not initiate an investigation without an order from a Magistrate under Section 174 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

The organisations also said the notices did not disclose any complaint filed by the RSS or an order from a Magistrate authorising an investigation. It further argued that seeking the removal of entire organisational accounts over a limited number of posts was disproportionate.

The organisations had demanded that the Delhi Police withdraw the notices and disclose the legal authority under which the requests were made.

This report was first published by The News Minute. Become a joint subscriber here.