Delhi Police files FIR over fake notices targeting IFF, SFLC on X
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New Delhi: The Delhi Police Crime Branch has registered an FIR against unidentified persons over forged communications allegedly issued in the name of the police, seeking the removal of social media accounts belonging to two digital rights organisations, according to media reports.
The notices targeted the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), which had been documenting and challenging government content restriction orders. The police have reportedly traced a 17-year-old in Srinagar suspected of impersonating officials in connection with the incident.
The case has been registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to forgery and impersonation of public servants, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
The development follows a submission by social media platform X before the Delhi High Court that an internal inquiry found the purported police notices to be unauthorised. X also assured the court that the organisations' accounts would not be suspended. The court subsequently disposed of the petitions filed by IFF and SFLC challenging the notices.
The controversy began after the organisations received purported legal communications in the name of the RSS, followed by alleged police takedown requests to X. Subsequent reports indicated that both sets of communications were fabricated, pointing to an impersonation attempt involving multiple parties.