India calls X a ‘habitual non-compliant platform’ in latest court tussle

India’s government has told a court that Elon Musk’s X is a “habitual non-compliant platform” and for years has not followed many orders to remove content, undermining the government’s role, according to a legal filing reviewed by Reuters.

The remarks were contained in an Aug. 24 non-public filing by India’s IT ministry to the high court in the southern state of Karnataka, which is set to hear a challenge brought by the social media platform over a government fine in coming days.

Formerly known as Twitter, X has an ongoing legal tussle with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration over what New Delhi alleges is non-compliance with content removal orders.

In June, Karnataka’s High Court fined the platform 5 million rupees ($60,291) and said it had not complied with many blocking orders without any plausible explanation.

Twitter challenged that ruling to a higher bench in the court and argued New Delhi could be emboldened to block more content and broaden the scope of censorship.

India and X have had strained relation for years. The tussle dates back to 2021 when the social media platform declined to block certain accounts New Delhi ordered to be taken down, related to farmer protests against the Indian government’s policies.

Indian authorities have also asked the company to take down content, including accounts deemed supportive of an independent Sikh state, posts alleged to have spread misinformation about protests by farmers, and tweets critical of the government’s handling of the COVID-19