Cheers to uncensored and open Internet.

So folks, Indian justice system is not as incompetent as we think it is. Some people in the system know how to make a free and fair judgement rather than making a judgement just for the sake of making big business houses and a few government officials happy.

Bombay Judge Patel has clarified that viewing a blocked website, streaming a pirated video or any such activity is not illegal and there will be no fines or imprisonment for any such activity. Previously all the leading ISPs in India used to display warning stating the imprisonment for 3 years and fines if anyone was found guilty for accessing websites blocked by them.

Although judge made it clear that viewing, downloading, exhibiting or duplicating any particular is still an offence Now the language of warning has been updated as per the court orders :

“This URL has been blocked under instructions of a competent Government Authority or in compliance with the orders of a Court of competent jurisdiction. Infringing or abetting infringement of copyright-protected content including under this URL is an offence in law. Ss. 63, 63-A, 65 and 65-A of the Copyright Act, 1957, read with Section 51, prescribe penalties of a prison term of up to 3 years and a fine of up to Rs.3 lakhs. Any person aggrieved by the blocking of this URL may contact the Nodal Officer at xyz@[isp-domain] for details of the blocking order including the case number, court or authority to be approached for grievance redressals. Emails will be answered within two working days. Only enquiries regarding the blocking will be entertained.”

Court has advised the government to appoint an official who will act as a neutral ombudsman who can handle the issues related to improperly blocking of websites and appeals regarding this subject.

Talking of the current situation Movie-makers and production houses are requesting the courts to block the whole site rather than blocking the particular parts that broadcast illegal content. They are supporting their point-of-view by saying that process is quite hectic and not effective in a long term scenario. So judge Patel has made a statement regarding this :

“Many John Doe orders are granted without a sufficient checking of the Plaintiffs’ claim. This results in overly broad orders and wholesale site blocking without adequate verification of the legitimacy of all content,”