NEW DELHI: An Indian court has ordered the takedown of an online documentary posted by Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and billionaire Gautam Adani of cronyism.
Adani’s flagship firm, Adani Enterprises, told the high court in the eastern city of Kolkata that the documentary, which garnered millions of views on social media in recent days, was riddled with false content and had prompted inquiries from some investors in the company, whom the court order did not name.
The documentary “is not a news report or an account of proceedings. It is a dramatised narrative,” the court’s takedown order for YouTube, X and Meta issued late on Monday said.
They blocked Sabeer’s video. But watch it here to see how Adani & Modi stole India. https://t.co/tEPkYNBl9c
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) October 11, 2026
Adani Enterprises, Modi’s office and Bhatia did not respond to requests for comment, and neither did the social media companies, according to Reuters news agency.
Modi’s opponents have often accused the prime minister of having close ties with Adani, saying the business tycoon has received favourable treatment over the years.
In its challenge, Adani Enterprises told the court that Bhatia had suppressed material facts, according to the court order.
Bhatia, who is based in the US, wrote on his X account that the lawsuit demands 500 million rupees ($5.25 million) in damages. In one X post, he wrote: “Truth is on my side”.
Why am I not scared? Truth is on my side. https://t.co/KbiMbq7zz9
— Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) October 26, 2026
“I believe the documentary has rattled Adani Enterprises Limited and struck a nerve at the highest levels,” he wrote.
Bhatia is the co-founder of the once-popular email service Hotmail, which he sold to Microsoft in 1997.
I’m shocked by Justice Aryak’s judgment. I’m no lawyer, but I believe it strikes at the very foundation of democracy-the fundamental right to free speech. A judgment that silences citizens for speaking their minds threatens the constitutional freedoms of every Indian.
— Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) October 27, 2026
Order to Take Down
In an interim order in force until January 31, 2027, the court ordered YouTube, X and Meta’s Instagram to remove several posts of the 36-minute film, “The Friendship Files”. It also restrained Bhatia from disseminating the video.
Hearings in the case are likely to resume in January.
Ahead of the court challenge, police in the state of Maharashtra, which is led by Modi’s ruling alliance, sent a takedown notice to Bhatia on October 19, saying the content “made serious unsubstantiated allegations”.
Modi’s political opponents have repeatedly been sharing the documentary, saying it reflected similar allegations they had made about the two men.
The film used archival footage to trace the history of the relationship between Modi and Adani, starting in the western state of Gujarat, where both men come from.
It raised questions about Adani’s winning bid for six airports in 2019 after a government rule change that critics say favoured his enterprise — allegations similar to those levelled by the opposition Congress party.
Earlier, regional opposition leader and Modi critic Raj Thackeray shared the documentary on his X account, where it garnered 4.8 million views, but took it down, saying he was doing it at the request of the Mumbai police commissioner.
I shared a documentary by Sabir Bhatia on my social media detailing the long-standing friendship between Gautam Adani and Narendra Modi, and how the Indian industrial landscape is consequently being handed over to Adani. It garnered over 4.8 million views on Twitter alone and received an overwhelming response on Facebook as well, not to mention the additional, uncounted views from shares by others.
My intention was for this serious issue to reach the public, and that objective has been achieved. While Sabir Bhatia produced this documentary recently, I had already delivered a major presentation back in January 2026 at Shivtirth in Mumbai, illustrating how the Adani Group is effectively setting out to swallow the entire nation.
That presentation received an exceptional response, and those videos remain available on my social media to this day. In fact, some clips from our presentation were even incorporated into this documentary. Anyways.
I have clarified my stance on this matter time and again: my opposition is not directed at any specific individual, but rather against the rise of a monopoly. I have often stated in my speeches that the Prime Minister should foster the growth of many industrialists across the country, creating vast employment opportunities and generating immense wealth for the nation, and empower them to conquer global markets.
However, if the government chooses to favor only one person to the point where it poses a threat to the nation, we oppose it and will continue to do so. My opposition is, therefore, directed against any form of monopoly, whether it involves Adani or anyone else.
Even now, the central government has directed the state government to hand over several hundred hectares of forest land in Bhimashankar to the Gujarat-based Torrent Group. This government has handed over vast tracts of forest and wilderness land in Maharashtra to a select group of industrialist friends, and it plans to hand over even more! I care little about which political party anyone belongs to; however, as citizens of Maharashtra, how can you remain so indifferent while our state is being sold off right before your very eyes? Does it not even spark a sense of outrage among our Marathi Members of Parliament, MLAs, and ministers to see this happening? Such total submission to power is entirely inconsistent with the history, traditions, and culture of Maharashtra. Why, then, do you bother raising slogans in the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or putting on a farce by singing the state anthem? Anyway..
Sabeer Bhatia’s documentary received such an overwhelming response that it was only natural for those in power to grow anxious, fearing that their secrets might be exposed. The intensity of this fear must have been significant, as I received a request, conveyed through the Mumbai Police Commissioner, to take it down.
My primary objective, both during the meeting in January 2026 and through the subsequent posting of this documentary, was and remains, to enlighten the nation. However, the request I received came from the Mumbai Police Commissioner. The Mumbai and Maharashtra Police forces are among the most efficient in the country, and I have always held them in high regard. Out of respect for the head of the Mumbai Police, I am choosing to honor this request.
Therefore, I am deleting the post containing the documentary. The fire has already been ignited. In January 2026, from Shivteerth, I ignited a spark against the authoritarianism in this country, that has now grown into a raging wildfire. Our struggle continues. Our post from January 2026 remains exactly where it was, and it will stay there. The documentary we shared was produced by others; our sole objective was to ensure it reached the public, a goal that has been achieved. On this occasion, I am bringing our well-researched analysis of this subject back into the spotlight. I am re-sharing a portion of our January 2026 presentation here; please take another look.
— Raj Thackeray (@RajThackeray) October 25, 2026
Mahua Moitra, another political opponent of Modi and a lawmaker, posted the documentary on October 11 and said it was still online.
I posted this on Oct 11th. It is still on my timeline so do watch it. You didn’t have to listen to Mumbai Police @RajThackeray
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) October 26, 2026
“I posted this on Oct 11th. It is still on my timeline, so do watch it,” she wrote on X on Monday night.
