Domain Name Registrars must comply with court orders if they want to do business in India: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Friday remarked that the Domain Name Registrars (DNRs) cannot be allowed to facilitate scams and if these DNRs want to do business in India, they must follow the orders passed by Indian courts [Court on its own motion v Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology & Ors]..A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna said that if any DNR fails to comply with the Court’s orders, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) will be asked to block that DNR from operating in India.“All the domain name registrar (DNRs) coming to India will have to comply with the court's orders. We cannot allow millions of people to be cheated. If you want to do business in India, we will lay down some guidelines and you will be bound by it… You will have to clear the internet for us. DNRs cannot be allowed to be a vehicle for facilitating scams,” the Court said.Acting Chief Justice Manmohan pointed out that some DNRs were also offering alternative domain names if the domain asked for is already owned by an entity. The alternative names offered often resemble the original ones with the potential to deceive users.If the DNRs are doing this, they cannot be categorised as ‘intermediaries’ under the Information Technology (IT) Act. These DNRs are saying they will negotiate with earlier owners and are charging a fee for this. An intermediary cannot do this, they can only facilitate hosting of websites, the Court remarked.“An intermediary means he is not interested. If you are making suggestions, your status will be in doubt. Intermediaries cannot be making suggestions… It’s not only about losing safe harbour, your existence as an intermediary itself will be in question,” ACJ Manmohan said..The Court said that it will lay down the guidelines to be followed by the DNRs, the MEITY and other authorities to deal with these ‘hydra-headed’ websites that infringe on the trademarks of other entities and commit cheating and scams..The Court was hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) petition with regard to websites with similar names cropping up and DNRs not following the High Court’s orders. The High Court is also considering the question whether National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) can be termed as an intermediary. .Senior Advocate Saurabh Kirpal appeared as amicus curiae in the matter and told the Court that as per Rule 3 of the Intermediary Rules, there is an obligation on an intermediary to ensure that there is no breach of any proprietary rights including trademark and copyright.He said that after the fresh amendment to these rules, there is now a positive obligation on the intermediaries that even without the court’s order, they must act against the infringers..Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Darpan Wadhwa appeared for DNR GoDaddy and said that they have filed an impleadment application in the matter.“We are not one of the DNRs who are not complying. We are not running away,” he said..The Court allowed GoDaddy’s impleadment application and also arrayed the Ministry of Home Affairs.It then directed all the parties to file their written submissions in the matter and listed the case for further consideration on January 9, 2024. .Domain Name Registrars should create mechanism for removing infringing domains: Delhi High Court