Sabu Mathew George v. Union of India
In the Supreme Court of India
WP(C) 341/2008
Before Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Prafulla C. Pant
Decided on January 28, 2015

Relevancy of the case: Directions for blocking advertisements related to sex determination on search engines and websites

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 69A)
• Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 (Section 22)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• Search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft had objectionable advertisements in their search results.
• Such searches included search results relating to sex selection and abortion-based advertisements.
• The petition has approached the Apex Court, seeking a ban on this practice.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the respondents could effectively filter advertisement links related to such content as they have the resources and technical tools to do so. Different governments and judicial forums across the globe have directed search engines to block content not permissible in their jurisdiction.

Opinion of the Bench

• Search engines should not sponsor or advertise content which contains material related to sex selection, etc.
• Respondents should mention the same in their Terms and Conditions of Service.

Final Decision

• The court listed the matter for further hearing.