Users on X have shared a notice issued by the Maharashtra Cyber Police on October 19, 2026, asking X Corp to provide information about several accounts behind posts critical of Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Issued under Section 94 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, the notice cites an ongoing investigation into alleged offences and says the posts contain “defamatory allegations, offensive remarks, and content capable of outraging the dignity of women and provoking public sentiments”.
The notice asks X to provide account registration details, login records and technical identifiers, among other information, and to preserve all available electronic records pending further legal process. We found that most of the posts flagged in the notice returned the message “this page does not exist”. The few links that were still accessible criticised Fadnavis for saying that Garba should be secular and that entry should not be restricted on the basis of religion. Several of these posts contained sexist and communal language, as well as references to “love Jihad”.
What has the police asked for? The notice asks X Corp to provide the following information about the identified accounts:
- Account registration details, including the date and time of account creation.
- Names, registered email IDs and mobile numbers associated with the accounts.
- Login and access details, including IP addresses with corresponding dates and times.
- Device and technical identifiers used to access the accounts, to the extent available.
- Location and IP-derived information associated with the accounts.
- Metadata relating to identified posts, including creation, modification and deletion details, if available.
- Details of linked or associated accounts and third-party identities, if available.
- Any other information relevant to establishing the identity of the account operator and furthering the investigation.
- Preservation of all available records and electronic evidence, including registration information, login and IP logs, metadata and associated records, pending further legal process.
Provisions cited: The notice refers to FIR 82/2026, registered at the Nodal Cyber Police Station in Navi Mumbai, under Sections 352 and 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Section 352 of the BNS deals with intentional insult intended to provoke a breach of public peace. Section 353 covers statements, false information, rumours or reports that fall within specified categories of public mischief, including certain statements made through electronic means. Section 67 of the IT Act addresses publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.
The police issued the notice under Section 94 of the BNSS, which empowers a court or the officer in charge of a police station to require the production of documents or other things considered necessary or desirable for an investigation, inquiry, trial or other proceedings.
Why does this matter? The Maharashtra Cyber Police notice raises questions about how far police can go when seeking personal data from social media platforms during investigations into online speech. Although the notice concerns specific posts, it seeks a much wider range of information, including users’ phone numbers, email addresses, IP logs, device identifiers, location data and linked accounts.
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling in journalist Abhishek Upadhyay’s case establishes an important limit: police cannot obtain personal information relating to the period before an alleged offence, while requests for subsequent data must also satisfy privacy safeguards and proportionality. The court also quashed the notice because the police had not adequately justified the scope of their request.
The distinction matters here because identifying the authors of allegedly objectionable posts does not, by itself, explain why investigators need every category of personal information listed in the notice.
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