Terming tweets made by journalist Rana Ayyub between 2013 and 2017 as “highly derogatory, inflammatory and communal”, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed authorities to “do the needful” in 24 hours. The court will hear the matter next on April 10.
Justice Purushaindra Kaurav was hearing a petition filed by advocate Amita Sachdeva – who claims to be a “devout follower of Sanatan dharma” – seeking directions to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and social media intermediary X Corp (formerly Twitter) to remove or disable access to the alleged derogatory tweets.
Sachdeva had alleged that in her tweets, Ayyub “demeaned” Ram, “glorified” Ravan, showed Sita and Draupadi in a “disrespectful light” and referred to “Veer Savarkar, an esteemed freedom fighter, as a terrorist sympathiser”. Some of the tweets also included references to Nathuram Godse.
While issuing notice to the respondents, which includes MeitY, its grievance appellate committee under the IT Rules, Ayyub and X Corp, Justice Kaurav recorded in his order that the matter requires urgent consideration.
“The action is necessary in view of the highly derogatory, inflammatory and communal tweets posted by (Ayyub) pursuant to which even an FIR had to be registered against (Ayyub) by a court of competent jurisdiction. The matter requires urgent consideration. In the meantime, the official who represents Delhi Police is also directed to transmit necessary documents to (X Corp),” the court observed. It also added Delhi Police as a party to the litigation, seeking its response.
Justice Kaurav orally remarked that X Corp, Delhi Police and the Ministry “will have to work in tandem and do the needful in 24 hours”.
However, advocate Ankit Parahar, appearing for X Corp, told the court that the intermediary’s role comes in when the user is not identified, but in the present case, Ayyub is self-identified, and thus the court’s direction should be issued to Ayyub. The Ministry’s counsel also told the court that it will do the needful within 24 hours.
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In November 2024, Sachdeva had filed a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, seeking criminal action against Ayyub. After no complaint was filed by the Delhi Police, she moved a Delhi magistrate court under CrPC provisions, which empowers a magistrate to order a police probe.
Last January, the magistrate had held that prima facie cognizable offences under IPC Sections 153A, 295A and 505 (promoting communal enmity, deliberate and malicious intent of outraging religious sentiment and public mischief) were made out and directed Cyber Police Station South SHO to register an FIR. In April 2025, Sachdeva had approached the appellate committee under the Ministry, requesting action against the tweets, but the committee — disposing of the appeal in June 2025 — had refrained from passing any directions, as the matter was subjudice, prompting Sachdeva to move HC.
Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court
Professional Profile
Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.
Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).
Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.
She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.
With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:
High-Profile Case Coverage
She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.
Signature Style
Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.
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