Mr Rajesh Aggarwal, IT Secretary of Maharashtra has created a history by his landmark judgement in a case of an ex-employee hacking into his former employer’s systems to provide a wrongful gain to his new employer. Such cases are common in IT industry and earlier such cases have been registered in Tamil Nadu and other places.
In this case decided by Mr Aggarwal as the Adjudicator of Maharashtra, he has found a Japanese Company liable to compensate the aggrived ex-employer of an employee who had joined the Japanese Company.
More information on the case is available here
In the above article in Indian Express it is reported that a apanese Company namely Endo Kogyo nd its employee, Mr Ashish Kalmegh were ordered to compensate a Pune based firm by name Arhan Technologies in a case recognized as “industrial Espionage”. It was alleged that the ex-employee had used his formal credentials to hack into the former employer’s systems and forward certain emails to himself. The accused were also reported to have deleted evidence and threatened the Pune company by spreading false rumours.
The adjudicator has awarded a compensation of Rs 20 lakhs. Since there is also a police complaint filed in the case it is possibel that the police may also initiate criminal proceedings against the Japanese Company as well as the offending employee under various sections of ITA 2008.
Copy of the two orders are available here:
This should be considered as a landmark judgement which will enhance the reputation of the Adjudication system in general.
In contrast the Adjudication system in Karnataka is accumulating negative reputation with another kind of landmark judgement which the IT Secretary, Mr M.N.Vidyashankar rleased on 27th December 2011 holding in effect that “No Company can seek protection for hacking under ITA 2008”. If this judgement is considered operative, the Pune company or the Maharashtra police could not have proceeded in the above case.
I would like Karnataka High Court also to take note of the above judgement of the Adjudicator of Maharashtra since it has in effect endorsed the judgement of Mr M.N. Vidyashankar through its own judgement of May 27, 2013 creating a situation where Karnataka can be called a “Hacker’s Haven”.
Naavi
