Yahoo granted reprieve by Delhi courts HC quashes summons in criminal suit while District Court deletes Yahoo from list of Defendants

Internet giant Yahoo!, one of several companies embroiled in civil and criminal proceedings regarding “objectionable content”, has finally been granted a reprieve from the courts. The Rohini District Court, where a civil suit had been filed by one Mufti Qasmi against 22 companies including Yahoo, allowed Yahoo’s plea to be dropped from the list of Defendants..The Rohini District Court, where a civil suit had been filed by one Mufti Qasmi against 22 companies including Yahoo, allowed Yahoo’s plea to be dropped from the list of Defendants. The said plea was allowed on March 5, 2012 and costs of Rs.5,000 were imposed on Qasmi for failing to show any cause of action against Yahoo. The same court had earlier deleted Microsoft from the list of Defendants and had imposed similar costs of Rs.5,000 on the Plaintiff..This is the second breather the internet giant has been given over the last few days. On March 2, 2012, Justice Suresh Kait of the Delhi High Court quashed the summons issued to Yahoo as a result of a criminal complaint filed by one Vinod Rai a journalist who runs a Hindi and Urdu daily called Akbari. Rai had filed the complaint in the district court of Patiala House. However, the High Court clarified that the criminal complaint could be revived if new evidence was found at a later point of time..While refusing to quash the criminal proceedings, the High Court did grant exemption from personal appearance for officials of Google India and Facebook before the trial court. The next date of hearing is scheduled for March 13, 2012..Luthra & Luthra was representing Yahoo in both the civil and the criminal matters. Bar & Bench contacted Luthra Partner Sanjay Kumar. However, he declined to comment.