From suspicious spyware to banned documentaries to contested gambling bans—India’s courts are hearing all sorts of tech policy cases this April. Here are all the important cases worth keeping an eye out for this summer.
Got a case you think we should cover? Did a recent tech policy judgment impact your business? What more can we do to make our legal coverage less Delhi-centric? Send in your inputs to aarathi@medianama.com.
Your tech policy court calendar for April
April 4th*: The Pegasus case has been listed (again)—some nine months after the Supreme Court heard it last August. Case number: WP (Crl) 314/2021.
April 10th*: The Supreme Court will hear Mahua Moitra, N. Ram, and Prashant Bhushan’s challenge to the blocking of a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Case number: WP (C) 116/2023.
April 10th: Nine months after it was first filed, the Karnataka High Court will continue hearing arguments in Twitter’s challenge to the Indian government’s orders to block 39 tweets and user accounts. The last hearing saw the government repeat its argument that “foreign body corporates” like Twitter aren’t entitled to free speech protections. Case number: WP 13710/2022.
April 11th: The Supreme Court will continue hearing the five-year-old challenge to WhatsApp’s privacy policy—which allegedly violated the privacy rights of its users. At the last hearing, the Supreme Court “directed WhatsApp to publicise its stance allowing Indian WhatsApp users to continue using the service without accepting the company’s 2021 privacy policy until the Data Protection Bill”. Case number: SPL (C) 804/2017.
April 17th*: After being dropped from the daily hearing list in February, the Supreme Court may hear the Tamil Nadu government’s challenge to the Madras High Court’s decision to strike down its ban on online gambling this month. This case was filed in late 2021—but the state government hasn’t been twiddling its thumbs since. It’s passed another law banning online gambling, not once, but twice. Whether it’ll actually ever come into force is another question altogether. Case number: SLP (C) 19981-88/21.
April 27th: The Delhi High Court will hear newspaper giant DB Corp’s challenge against WhatsApp for allegedly hosting its copyrighted newspapers without permission. Case number: CS (COMM) 652/2021.
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Temporarily saying goodbye to Madhya Pradesh’s online gambling law?
India’s courts are not exactly known for speedily resolving cases—some of the cases we’ve been covering in our Court Watch series have been pending for years. But, every now and then, things move swiftly—and dramatically—in tech policy battles fought in India’s courtrooms.
For example, March’s Court Watch opened with an explainer on why the Madhya Pradesh High Court gave the state government three months last December to draft and pass a new law regulating online gambling. We featured the development because we thought this would be another reckoning for India’s convoluted online gaming industry—whose existence is regularly disturbed by confusing state laws for the sector.
But, the state government didn’t actually draft and pass the law in time. As a March 13th High Court order noted,
“The State has neither filed [a] copy of the draft prepared by the committee of Senior Secretaries of the State nor any material to show as to when that draft was presented to the Legislative Assembly for discussion and they have also not produced any copy of agenda note of the Assembly to show that bill is to be taken up for consideration of the house on a particular date.”
By March 21st, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had lost its patience and disposed of the case—but not before it testily (and memorably) said:
“It is submitted that State has revealed its dual character. On the one hand it was gathering publicity showing its intention that it is people friendly and has intention of curb menace of online gambling and on the other hand, it was playing in the hands of the vested interests, who are mighty and influential players having huge stake in online gambling and was deliberately delaying the preparation of law. It is further submitted that this Court had only sought compliance of the orders within a particular time frame but even that order became a subject matter of writ appeal is surprising, exposing the duality and hypocrisy of the State. Several youth have been compelled to commit suicide and end their life before it starts to blossom…In view of such facts nothing further is required in the matter as State is the custodian of the future of its citizens and it is free to decide whether it wants to promote gambling at the cost of the welfare of the youth or it wishes to have some check. That being the discretion of the welfare State, State is supposed to be custodian, no further indulgence is required in the matter.”
It remains to be seen if and when the state government will introduce a new online gambling law.
Hearing updates from the last three months
Some of the cases we’ve covered in the past were heard over the last three months—here’s what you can expect from them next.
May 1st: The Supreme Court will hear the suo motu Prajwala case concerning the dissemination of child porn online. Case number: SMW (Crl) 3/2015.
May 5th*: When is it okay to search and seize someone’s electronic devices—and how should it be legally done? That’s a question the Supreme Court will continue hearing in a bunch of clubbed cases soon. Case number: WP (Crl) 395/2022.
July 12th: Sci-hub and the world’s top copyright publishers will continue to battle over where copyright ends and free access to knowledge begins at the Delhi High Court. Case number: CS (COMM) 572/2020).
July 17th: A Pune-based provider’s challenge to the Indian government’s cybersecurity guidelines continues at the Delhi High Court. Case number: WP (C) 13997/2022.
September 13th: The Delhi High Court will also look at the extent of the government’s surveillance under Section 69 of the Information and Technology Act, 2000, in a petition filed by the Internet Freedom Foundation’s Executive Director Apar Gupta. Case number: WP (C) 5662/2022.
The copyright trials: Social media platforms are facing copyright violation claims at the Delhi High Court from various companies. Here’s when you should tune in:
- May 3rd: Ed-tech company VDK Eduventures battle against Telegram for hosting its copyrighted educational materials for free on the messaging platform. Case number: CS(COMM) 530/2020.
- May 23rd: Coming in hot, is Made Easy Education Pvt Limited, which has filed a similar suit against Telegram. Case number: CS (COMM) 392/2021.
- July 18th: The Court will hear the landmark Neetu Singh v Telegram—also known as the one where Telegram complied with the Court’s orders to hand over the details of the users allegedly circulating Singh’s copyrighted educational materials on the app. Case number: CS (COMM) 282/2020.
- July 19th: Exam prep major Allen’s case against Telegram for illegal circulation of its materials will continue hearings.
- August 22nd: Media giant Jagran Prakashan’s case on its newspapers freely circulating on Telegram will continue hearings. As per a March 27th order, Telegram has complied with the Court’s orders to block the infringing Telegram channels and users. Following the Court’s directions, it has also submitted basic subscriber information on the users or owners of the infringing channels to the High Court in a sealed cover. Case number: CS (COMM) 146/2020.
*This date has been auto-generated by the Supreme Court of India and is subject to change.
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Read more
- Court Watch: Tech Policy Cases India’s Courts Will Hear This March
- Court Watch: 12 Tech Policy Cases To Keep An Eye Out For This February
- Court Watch: The Biggest Indian Tech Policy Cases To Keep An Eye On In 2023
- Everything You Need To Know About 5 Copyright Cases Against Telegram At The Delhi HC
- Join The Club: Along With Telegram, WhatsApp Also Faces Copyright Infringement Cases At Delhi HC
