‘No way to penalise sites for dowry information’

The Bombay High Court has asked the central government to explain whether action can be taken against those websites and mobile apps that share dowry related information under section 69 (A) of the Information and Technology Act.

A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Mrudula Bhatkar was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Priscilla Samuel where she alleged that some famous matrimonial websites were sharing dowry related information. Ms Samuel said that it was a clear violation of the dowry prohibition act so such websites needed to be shut down. The petition further alleged that the state and central governments had totally failed in taking action against these websites.

The law required that one dowry related officer be present in the police station but the state government did not follow this rule stated in the petition. Earlier, the court had directed the state to appoint a dowry officer in every police station 24/7. It had also asked the state about what action could be taken against these websites.

Advocate General Rohit Dev said that the state government did not have enough power to take action against such websites and it was very difficult to take action against owners if they were out of India or outside state.

Mr Dev said that the central government could take action against such websites showing objectionable content under the Information and Technology Act. On Thursday, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh told the court that he did not find any provision under the law and wanted time to seek instruction from the officers.