New Delhi, Aug 16 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has asked the Centre to respond to its query on whether social media platform X Corp. ought to be unexceptionally part of the Sahyog portal in cases involving human trafficking, child trafficking and national security-related issues.
The court has asked the Centre to file its reply by September 10, addressing specifically this issue as well as a plea moved by X Corp., formerly known as Twitter, seeking discharge from the proceedings of a case and placing its opposition to come on board the Sahyog portal, which is managed by the home ministry’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (IC4).
“Let the Union of India file its reply to the present application, addressing the specific issue i.e. as to whether in cases involving human trafficking, child trafficking and serious matters such as drug trafficking and national security-related issues are concerned, the applicant X Corp. ought to be unexceptionally part of the SAHYOG portal. Let the reply be filed by September 10, 2025,” a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma has said.
The high court, in its August 12 order, took note of the challenge by X Corp. to the entire concept of the Sahyog portal and that its coming on board the portal is pending before the Karnataka High Court. However, the judgment is stated to be reserved.
Sahyog, the government says, was developed to automate the process of sending notices to intermediaries by the appropriate government or its agency under the IT Act to facilitate the removal or disabling of access to any information, data or communication link being used to commit an unlawful act.
The portal aims to bring together all authorised agencies and intermediaries on one platform to ensure immediate action against unlawful online information.
The court was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by a woman seeking directions to authorities to produce her 19-year-old son who has been missing since January 10, 2024.
While dealing with several habeas corpus petitions, the court noticed that there was a “lag” between the seeking of information by police and the receipt of the same from various social media platforms.
The court made it clear that the application of X Corp. arises in a habeas corpus petition, where there is a missing child, and the cooperation to be tendered by intermediaries and their participation in the SAHYOG portal is being considered from that perspective.
X Corp. has sought its discharge from the present proceedings, citing its cooperation, and said its petition against the Sahyog portal is pending in the Karnataka High Court, which has reserved the judgment.
The court observed that there was no impediment in hearing X Corp. as the Karnataka High Court has not passed any such order.
The Centre’s counsel had said while X Corp. moved the Karnataka High Court, 64 intermediaries had come aboard the Sahyog portal and the home ministry’s IC4 had sent requests to others to follow suit.
The counsel had urged the court to direct the remaining intermediaries to join the portal expeditiously.
In a status report filed in the matter, the Centre had also said that more than 1,100 entities, including internet service providers, Facebook, WhatsApp and Microsoft, have joined the “API integrated system” for instantaneously sharing data.
It had added that the system was at the testing and production stage and all states and Union territories had appointed nodal officers for the Sahyog portal.
The report had said 33 “Virtual Digital Asset Service Providers” had also joined the portal. PTI SKV RC
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