Mumbai Police serve notices to 24 X users over Bhatia documentary targeting Modi and Adani

Mumbai Police issued legal notices to 24 X account holders on October 18 after they shared a documentary by tech entrepreneur Sabeer Bhatia that alleged false and disparaging claims about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani. The notices said a formal complaint claimed the posts targeted a prominent business conglomerate and harmed its reputation without factual basis. Links in the notices pointed to Mr Bhatia’s X profile. Police said the content violated platform rules and broke Sections 352 and 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deal with intentional insult and defamation. Holders were ordered to review the posts and remove or block access to the material. Several users complied by deleting the video clips, while others reposted the police notice and accused the police of overreach. "I have complied and removed them," Bhatia wrote on X, adding that the tweet merely pointed out alleged corruption at the highest levels. He questioned whether pointing out wrongdoing had become a greater offense than the wrongdoing itself. Bhatia warned that free speech was being curtailed and expressed disappointment that fear silences citizens in a nation of 1.45 billion people. ## Reaction Bhatia’s statements on X highlighted his view that the law was protecting the powerful rather than the public, and he called the action a blow to fundamental rights. ## Context The notice targets content shared on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita is India’s criminal code that defines offenses such as insult and defamation. This case pits digital expression against existing laws on hate speech and reputation protection.