Digital Personal Data Protection Act Is An Outlier, Not In A Good Way : Apar Gupta

On August 12, 2023, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act received the assent of the President of India, clearing the way for the act to come into force when notified by the central government. It is the first law made for processing data in India and it brings several amendments to the Right to Information Act and the Information Technology Act. According to the preamble of the...

“Cloud Service Fee” Received By Amazon From Customers In India Is Not Taxable As Royalty, FTS, FIS: ITAT

The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that cloud computing services provided by Amazon Web Services cannot be held liable to tax in India as royalty and fee for technical or included services (FTS/FIS).The bench of G.S. Pannu (President) and Astha Chandra (Judicial Member) has observed that the AWS services provided by Amazon are standardised services that do...

Google Appeals To Supreme Court Against NCLAT Order Upholding Rs. 1337.76 Crores Penalty Imposed By CCI

The tech giant Google has filed an appeal before the Supreme Court, challenging the order dated 29.03.2023 passed by the National Company Law appellate Tribunal (“NCLAT”), New Delhi, whereby the imposition of Rs. 1337.76 Crores penalty on Google by the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) was upheld. Google has been penalized for abusing its dominant position in the Android OS...

Use Of AI Cameras For Detecting Road Violations Cannot Be Discouraged Due To Corruption Allegations: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently held that the 'innovative venture' of using AI (Artificial Intelligence) cameras for detecting road violations cannot be discouraged merely because of allegations of corruption in implementation of the project.A single bench of Justice P V Kunhikrishnan observed there may be objections regarding transparency of the project and even corruption allegations....

Kerala High Court Quashes Case Against Rehana Fathima Over Video Showing Her Children Painting On Her Semi-Naked Body

The Kerala High Court on Monday quashed the proceedings against controversial activist Rehana Fathima before the lower court in the matter relating to the circulation of a video that showed her children painting on her semi-nude body. Justice Kauser Edappagath passed the order. The allegation against Fathima was that she had asked her two minor children, a boy and a girl of the ages 14 and...

Right To Be Forgotten | Kerala High Court Refuses To Expunge Remarks Suggesting Google To Use AI Tools To Remove Identifiers From Judgments Online

The Kerala High Court recently refused to expunge remarks from its Right to be Forgotten judgment, whereby it was opined that Google is not 'content blind' and it cannot shirk liability to remove judgments and content disclosing personal details of parties.The Division Bench comprising Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Shoba Annamma Eapen dismissed the petition filed by the search...

“Activation Charges” Of Equipment/Software Features Covered Under The Activity Of Sales Of Goods, Not “Service”: CESTAT

The Ahmedabad Bench of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the “activation charges” of equipment/ software features are covered under the activity of sales of goods and not covered under the provisions of “Service”.The two-member bench of Ramesh Nair (Judicial Member) and Raju (Technical Member) has observed that if the software whether customized...

'Will Same Steps Taken In Europe Be Followed In India?': Supreme Court Asks Google In Challenge To CCI Order Over Android Dominance

Will Google follow the same approach taken by it in European Union, as regards pre-installed apps in Android-based in mobile phones, in India? The Supreme Court asked Google India this question while considering the tech-giant's plea challenging the order of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal(NCLAT) which declined to stay the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) decision to impose...

Delhi HC Asks Registrar General To Expeditiously Explore Possibility Of Creating Software To Preserve Right To Default Bail

The Delhi High Court has asked its Registrar General to expeditiously implement a 2018 verdict wherein he was requested to explore the possibility of creation of a database for district courts to ensure preservation of right of default bail of the accused. Justice Anu Malhotra referred to the observations made in Arvind Kumar Saxena v. State wherein she had requested the Registrar General...

Delhi High Court Grants Protection To Sony Against Rogue Websites Illegally Telecasting International Cricket Series 2022

The Delhi High Court recently granted injunction in favour of the Sony entertainment network against rogue websites illegally telecasting International Cricket Series 2022. The order was passed by Justice Sanjeev Narula who passed the following directions: "In light of the above, the following interim directions to protect the interest of the Plaintiff are...

Forwarding Of Woman's Nude Video Amounts To "Sexually Explicit Act" Under Section 67A IT Act : Bombay HC's Prima Facie View

Refusing anticipatory bail to a man accused of forwarding a married woman's nude video to several people, the Bombay High Court observed that prima facie his alleged misdeed would be an offence under Section 67A of the Information Technology Act. Section 67A prescribes the punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act. Justice Bharati...

[IT Rules 2021] Social Media Intermediaries Must Respect Fundamental Rights, Issue Notice Before Taking Action Against User Accounts: Centre To Delhi HC

Intermediaries must be held accountable for subjugating fundamental rights like right to freedom of speech, Centre said.