India's Supreme Court quashes police request to X for journalist's data

India's Supreme Court has quashed a Ghaziabad Crime Branch notice seeking data from investigative journalist Abhishek Upadhyay's X account for June 1 to August 22, 2026. The court ruled police cannot obtain personal information for a period before the alleged offence and barred use of any data obtained against the petitioner.

• Court barred police from seeking data predating the August 18 incident
• Police had sought IP logs, location, device details and contacts
• Post-FIR data requests must meet proportionality and privacy safeguards
• Upadhyay reported on alleged Ram Janmabhoomi Temple donation irregularities