New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the immediate restoration of the X, formerly Twitter, account operated by the popular satirical handle ‘Dr Nimo Yadav’.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav passed the order on a petition filed by Prateek Sharma, who runs the parody account. The account was blocked on March 18 following directions from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under the Information Technology Act.
The government had cited the use of AI-manipulated images, videos and defamatory posts that allegedly spread false narratives about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, questioned the government and risked disturbing public order.
The account was one of 12 blocked under the order.
X Corp told the court that a blanket ban on the entire account was disproportionate and not in line with Section 69A of the IT Act.
The platform argued that only specific objectionable content should be removed instead of suspending the full account.
Sharma, in his petition, said the handle was his primary source of livelihood and that the block had caused him significant financial and professional loss.
The court ordered restoration of the account while directing that the specific tweets flagged in the MeitY blocking order would remain temporarily withheld. The petitioner has been asked to appear before the government’s Review Committee, where principles of natural justice will apply.
The bench also noted that the government can continue to monitor the account and take action if further violations are found.
