NEW DELHI, July 1 (Reuters) - A lawyer for Elon Musk's X

told an Indian court on Tuesday that every "Tom, Dick, and

Harry" government official had been authorised to issue content

takedown orders, drawing a sharp rebuke from New Delhi's counsel

in the latest clash over content moderation.

X has long been at loggerheads with Prime Minister Narendra

Modi's government over content removal requests.

The remarks were made during a hearing on the U.S. firm's

challenge to a government-run website it says is a "censorship

portal" that allows officials to issue content removal orders.

New Delhi says the website is only to swiftly notify companies

of their due diligence obligations.

India is a critical growth market for X owner Musk, who is

getting closer to launching his other key ventures

Starlink and Tesla in the country.

During the court hearing, X's lawyer, K. G. Raghavan, said

it recently received a notice from the railways department to

remove a video in which a car was being driven on a railway

track. That was news, but the government found it unlawful, he

told the court.

"This is the danger, My Lord, that is done now, if every

Tom, Dick, and Harry officer is authorised," Raghavan told the

high court in the southern state of Karnataka.

The phrase drew immediate condemnation from India's

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who said "officers are not Tom,

Dick, or Harry ... they are statutory functionaries".

"No social media intermediary can expect completely

unregulated functioning," Mehta said.

India's IT ministry and X did not respond to Reuters

queries.

In 2021, X, formerly called Twitter, was locked in a

stand-off with the Indian government over non-compliance with

legal orders to block certain tweets. It later complied, but is

still locked in a court fight related to the move.