WhatsApp Admin not liable for member’s posting..Delhi High Court

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Vijayashankar Na

For some time it has been a hot discussion whether a WhatsApp admin should be held liable for the contents posted by a member.  In several places, police have launched action against WhatsApp admins in such cases. It is however heartening to note that the Delhi High Court has in a recent decision has held that the Admin should not be held liable.

(See the report here)

In Ashish Bhalla Vs Suresh Chawdhary & Others [CS(OS) no 188/2016, IA No 4901/2016,IA 8988/2016, IA 9554/2016) the High Court of New Delhi has observed “…to make the administrator of an online platform liable for defamation would be like making the manufacturer of the newsprint on which defamatory statements are published liable for defamation”.

The case has been dismissed also for other reasons. But Netizens and WhatsApp admins should be happy with the remarks recorded in the judgement.

Naavi

 

About Vijayashankar Na

Naavi is a veteran Cyber Law specialist in India and is presently working from Bangalore as an Information Assurance Consultant. Pioneered concepts such as ITA 2008 compliance, Naavi is also the founder of Cyber Law College, a virtual Cyber Law Education institution. He now has been focusing on the projects such as Secure Digital India and Cyber Insurance
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