Delhi HC Says X Must Cooperate With Police Despite Safe Harbour Protection

The Delhi High Court on Friday said that the "safe harbour" protection available to social media platform X cannot be used as a ground to avoid joining the government's Sahyog portal or to delay cooperation in criminal investigations.

A bench comprising Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Amit Sharma made the observation while hearing X Corp's plea seeking discharge from proceedings related to delays in sharing information with the police.

The case arises from a habeas corpus petition filed by a woman whose 19-year-old son has been missing since January 10, 2024. During the hearings, the court noted a significant lag between requests sent by investigating agencies and the responses received from various social media intermediaries, including global platforms.

X told the court that its challenge to the Sahyog portal is pending before the Karnataka High Court. However, the bench orally observed that safe harbour under the Information Technology Act does not extend to a situation where a platform refuses to cooperate in criminal matters.

"The existing safe harbour provisions, in the opinion of this court, do not give you protection to that extent that you can refuse and say that in the case of crimes we cannot come on board," the bench remarked.

Emphasising the need for a centralised system, the court said it would be impossible for police officers across the country to separately approach dozens of digital platforms for urgent information. The judges noted that several countries already follow similar models to speed up investigations involving online data.

The Centre informed the court that more than 60 intermediaries have already joined the Sahyog portal. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has also written to other platforms, asking them to integrate with the system.

Senior counsel appearing for X argued that the present proceedings have a limited scope, as they stem from a missing person case. He also submitted that communications from I4C describe joining the Sahyog portal as an administrative and optional measure rather than a statutory mandate.

The court, however, stressed that Section 79 of the IT Act, which grants safe harbour to intermediaries for third-party content, cannot be interpreted to obstruct lawful requests or slow down criminal investigations.

According to the government, the Sahyog portal was developed to automate notices under the IT Act, 2000, and to enable authorised agencies to seek removal or blocking of unlawful online content through a single interface.

The Delhi High Court was also informed that on September 24, 2025, a single-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court dismissed X Corp's challenge to the legality of the Sahyog portal. X's appeal against that order is currently pending before a division bench.