The Delhi High Court recently barred 22 “rogue websites” from broadcasting or transmitting to the public any event related to the Asia Cup, which begins later this month. The tournament that is planned to take place from 31st August to 17th September will be co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The “interim order” was issued on August 2 by Justice Prathiba M Singh in response to an application for interim relief filed by Star India Pvt. Ltd and Novi Digital Entertainment Pvt. Ltd against the “illegal and unauthorized dissemination” of Asia Cup cricket matches and their content.
The high court stated, “Given the investment that the Plaintiffs (Star and Novi) have made in acquiring the rights to these events, any illegal broadcasting would significantly harm the Plaintiffs’ monetary interests while also diminishing the value of the rights to such athletic events.”
“As a result, until the next date of hearing, Defendants Nos. 1 to 22 and all others acting for or on their behalf shall be prohibited from hosting, streaming, broadcasting, rebroadcasting, retransmitting, or in any other manner communicating to the public, or disseminating to the public, any cricketing events, extracts, excerpts, highlights in relation to cricket matches relating to the Asia Cup…” it added.
The court further ordered Domain Name Registrars to “immediately block the said domain names and maintain the status quo thereof,” as well as reveal the full data of the offending sites, including name, address, IP address, and KYC.
The court also ordered that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), Department of Technology (DoT), and internet service providers (ISP) block the websites of Defendant Nos. 1 to 22, and that the DoT issue the blocking orders within 24 hours of receiving the court’s order.
The matter will be considered by the court next on 19th December 2023.