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X Corp Agrees to Share User Information of Accounts Posting Shazia Ilmi's Debate Video: Delhi High Court

8 May 2025 4:24 PM - By Vivek G.

X Corp Agrees to Share User Information of Accounts Posting Shazia Ilmi's Debate Video: Delhi High Court

X Corp, previously known as Twitter, has informed the Delhi High Court that it will provide the basic subscriber information (BSI) of users who posted a video of BJP leader Shazia Ilmi withdrawing from a live India Today debate. The announcement was made during a court hearing, where Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao represented X Corp.

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The development comes after the Court, led by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, found that the video clip violated Shazia Ilmi’s right to privacy. Justice Arora recorded the statement of Senior Advocate Rao, who confirmed that X Corp had already removed the posts containing the controversial video.

On April 09, the Delhi High Court had ordered X Corp to remove the video posts and share the BSI of users who uploaded it. However, X Corp later filed an application seeking modification of this direction, citing user privacy concerns. The Court expressed its surprise at the drafting of X Corp’s application, which claimed that the initial order was passed without giving the platform an opportunity to respond.

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Justice Arora clarified that any privacy concerns of X Corp’s users could be addressed in separate proceedings but not in the present case. Senior Advocate Rao assured the Court that X Corp would provide the required user information within 36 hours and also withdrew the statement that the platform was not given an opportunity to present its case.

The controversy began when Shazia Ilmi participated in an India Today debate on the Agniveer scheme. During the debate, she walked out, and the video of this moment was later posted on X (Twitter) by journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. Ilmi filed a defamation suit against Sardesai, arguing that the video violated her privacy as it was recorded and shared without her consent.

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In an earlier order on April 04, Justice Arora partially sided with Ilmi, ruling that recording and sharing the 18-second clip of Ilmi walking out violated her right to privacy. The Court had also directed Rajdeep Sardesai to take down the video until the defamation suit was resolved.

Furthermore, in a separate order passed in August last year, the Court imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on Ilmi for willfully suppressing two tweets that were part of the same conversation thread as Sardesai's tweet.

The case is now scheduled for further hearing on August 29.