Delhi High Court Restrains Rougue Apps From Illegally Streaming India's Upcoming Cricket Tours

The Delhi High Court has recently ordered several rogue mobile apps and websites to stop illegally streaming the upcoming South Africa and New Zealand cricket tours of India, protecting Jiostar India's exclusive broadcast rights. The injunction will remain in force until March 3, 2026.A single bench of Justice Tejas Karia passed the order on November 11, 2025, following Jiostar's urgent plea for protection of its exclusive broadcast rights over these cricket events. The tours together comprise 18 matches. A similar order was also passed by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora on November 13. Jiostar, which operates the JioHotstar OTT platform and more than 100 television channels, stated that it owns media rights for several BCCI-organized cricket events. It entered into a Media Rights Agreement with the BCCI for exclusive global digital and television rights for the South Africa and New Zealand tours from 2023 to 2028. The company informed the court that apps such as Cricfy TV were illegally streaming its content free of charge or for minimal subscription fees without authorization. Jiostar argued that these rogue apps had also recently streamed the West Indies Tour of India 2025, violating its exclusive broadcasting rights.After reviewing the evidence, the court held that Jiostar had made out a prima facie case for interim protection. It noted that the company had invested heavily in acquiring exclusive rights, and unauthorized streaming would harm its revenue and infringe its rights under the Copyright Act, 1957. The court also referenced its earlier decision in Universal City Studios LLC v. Dotmovies.baby, which recognized a 'Dynamic+ injunction' to protect copyrighted works, including future broadcasts, from being shared on rogue platforms.-Until the next hearing, the court restrained the identified apps and websites, as well as any newly discovered infringing platforms, from hosting, streaming, or rebroadcasting any part of the South Africa and New Zealand tours. Domain Name Registrars and Internet Service Providers were directed to block and suspend domain names associated with these rogue apps within 72 hours. Jiostar may also provide details of newly identified infringing apps/sites for immediate real-time blocking. The Court also directed that if any new apps/websites are found illegally streaming the matches during or before the event, Jiostar can immediately share their details with the concerned domain registrars and internet service providers for real-time blocking without delay. The company is required to submit regular affidavits listing any new infringing platforms so that the court remains updated, ensuring that the injunction automatically extends to all newly discovered rogue apps and websites. The matter will be next listed on March 3, 2026. Case Title: Jiostar India Private Limited v. Cricfy TV & OrsCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1502 Case Number: CS(COMM) 1203/2025, For Plaintiff: Advocates Siddharth Chopra, Yatinder Garg, Priyansh Kohli, Ishi Singh, Shudhata Sudhir and Manish Singh (Nov 11 Order); Advocates Sidharth Chopra, Yatinder Garg, Priyansh Kohli, Manish Singh and Ishi Singh.For Defendants: Advocate Nidhi Raman, CGSC with Advocate Om Ram for DoT and MeitY Click Here To Read/Download The Order

Delhi High Court Restrains Rougue Apps From Illegally Streaming India's Upcoming Cricket Tours

Ayushi Shukla

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