Tech world titan Elon Musk juggles ambitious plans—pushing Starlink, Tesla into India—while locking horns with Indian government in court over censorship claims.

Yes, you heard right: Musk’s social media platform X now faces off against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration in a major legal showdown – Reuters report.

On March 5, 2025 X Corporation filed a case in Karnataka High Court alleging India’s IT Ministry illegally expanded censorship powers. X contends government launched Sahyog Portal an online system allowing content blocking without judicial or senior-level approval. This means any government department or state police can order content removal directly—no prior warning, no legal process.

X accuses government of misusing Information Technology Act’s Section 79(3)(b) for online censorship sidestepping mandatory Section 69A rules.

Under Section 69A content removal requires written justification opportunity for affected parties to respond and judicial challenge option. Yet X claims government skips these safeguards issuing takedown orders via Section 79(3)(b) rendering it unlawful.

Another grievance targets Sahyog Portal empowering various government offices state police to erase online content. X argues this system imposes censorship without transparency or legal oversight letting thousands of officials arbitrarily delete content unchecked.

X seeks three key outcomes from court: block government from using Section 79(3)(b) for content takedowns, halt Sahyog Portal’s content removal mechanism until final ruling and establish Section 69A as sole legitimate censorship method, forcing government compliance with law.

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Next hearing looms on March 27. Court noted X can return if government retaliates. This isn’t X’s first clash—back in 2022, it challenged direct content removal orders in court.

This case could prove pivotal for big tech. If X wins, India’s government might face stricter transparency, rule-following demands for content control.