State: Applicable Across India
Year: 2025
Date: October 23, 2025
Source:
Policies/Regulations
Yesterday evening, on October 22, 2025 the Union Government notified amendments to Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Rules, 2021 titled as Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2025 which cements the, “Sahyog Platform” (referred to as the, “Sahyog Rules, 2025”). Our statement on it is contained below:
The Sahyog Rules, 2025 reinforce a centralised takedown portal called, “Sahyog” that has been created by the Home Ministry and gives effect to previously through MeitY’s (Ministry of Electoronic and Information Technology) Office Memorandums. These Office Memorandums envisioned a centralised takedown process under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 for intermediaries such as social media companies. The technical facility/platform to do this is through Sahyog that has been ripe with abuse as in reported instances when officers authorised under it from the Indian Railways issued takedown orders for reporting and videos related to a stampede on the Delhi Railway Station on February 17, 2025 (press report). The creation of Sahyog was challenged in a petition filed by X Corp. in which DigiPub separately highlighted its impact on freedom of speech especially for digital news platforms. On 24.09.2025 a single bench of the Karnataka High Court upheld the validity of Sahyog terming it as a, “facilitation portal”. The Sahyog Rules, 2025 which have been made subsequent to this decision hence go beyond the decision of the Hon’ble Court (judgement analysis).
(Visit the source link for the full list of concerns.)
Updated On: February 7, 2026
Kunal Kamra Challenges Legality of Sahyog Portal and IT Rules
Kunal Kamra, a prominent stand-up comedian, has initiated legal action against the Indian government’s ‘Sahyog’ portal and the recently amended Information Technology (IT) rules. The petitions, filed in the Bombay High Court, challenge the constitutional validity of these regulations, particularly highlighting their implications for freedom of speech.
The comedian argues that the amendments to the IT rules, introduced in October 2025, unlawfully empower government officials at both the central and state levels to remove or block social media content unilaterally. Kamra’s legal petitions, submitted through Advocate Meenaz Kakalia, describe such powers as an unreasonable limitation on freedom of speech, directly contradicting the protections afforded under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution.
According to the government, the Sahyog portal was developed to streamline the process of issuing takedown notices to online platforms, aiming to ensure effective action against unlawful content. However, Kamra contends that the framework established by the Sahyog portal and relevant IT rules lacks clear guidelines, which could lead to arbitrary decisions being made without adequate notice or recourse for users.
The petitions argue that the provisions of Rule 3(1)(d) of the amended IT rules and the Sahyog portal violate principles of natural justice by allowing content to be blocked without prior notification to those affected. It is further claimed that these mechanisms establish a parallel system for content removal that bypasses the procedural safeguards set forth in Section 69A of the IT Act, which regulates content blocking in India.
Kamra’s legal challenge asserts that these rules and the Sahyog portal infringe upon citizens’ rights by enabling unchecked power over information dissemination. The petitions assert that the vagueness of these grounds for blocking content leads to potential misuse, impacting the overall freedom of expression.