K.N. Govindacharya v. Union of India
In the High Court of Delhi
WP(C) 3672/2012 and CM 7709, 12197/2012, 6888/2012
Before Additional Chief Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bakhru
Decided on August 23, 2013

Relevancy of the case: Directions for intermediaries to publish the details of their Grievance Officers as required by Rule 3(11) of the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 2)
• The Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011 (Rule 3)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The issue before the court is whether children can open accounts with social networking sites such as Facebook and Orkut.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel argued that social networking sites must publish rules and regulations, privacy policies and user agreements according to Rule 3(2) of the 2011 Guidelines. He also mentioned that an intermediary shall act within 36 hours of receiving a complaint in writing or by mail to disable any information contravening Rule 3(2). Further, the petitioner mentioned the requirement under Rule 3(11) to publish the name and contact details of the Grievance officer, along with the mechanism through which users can submit their complaints. A Grievance Officer should redress the complaints received within one month. The 2011 Guidelines also provide the content to be included in those agreements.
• The respondent counsel, appearing on Google’s behalf, submitted that they have addressed the complaint.
• The respondent counsel, appearing on the Union of India’s behalf, stated that they shall take the necessary steps to ensure compliance with Rule 3(11).

Opinion of the Bench

• If any dispute is raised questioning the age of the children, the intermediaries shall address and resolve the matter. They can verify and take appropriate steps to delete the account.

Order

• With the directions for intermediaries to notify their grievance officers, the court listed the case for hearing again on September 09, 2013.

Yagyanseni Acharya, an undergraduate student at VIT School of Law, Chennai, prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2024.