Latest Law on Visiting Torrent Sites in India

Torrent has been long associated as ' heaven' for people wanting to watch the latest movies and series for free. Nobody would want to wait over a week to watch a new episode of series like Game of Thrones, or to watch a movie like Oppenheimer. Torrent made it easier to download the whole series in one go and also save money by not spending a copious amount on tickets for next Friday' s release.

In recent days there has been a lot of buzz around a new notice that certain users are seeing on blocked URLs in India: -

Something on the lines of "this URL has been blocked in compliance with Court orders or as per the instructions of Govt. Authorities and that viewing, downloading, duplicating, creating illicit copies of the contents on this page/url is an offence and is punishable under the Indian laws, including but not limited to Sections 63, 63-A, 65, and 65-A of The Copyright Act of 1957. A violator can be imprisoned for up to 3 years and may also be fined up to INR 3,00,000. Any individual/person who is aggrieved by such blocking may contact the concerned authorities and proceed with relevant proceedings for redressal of your grievance."

The notorious aspect of this warning is that few media reports are claiming that just visiting a blocked URL, could lead to a 3 year term jail and be fined up to Rs 300,000. This has sent users into a frenzy with many imagining getting arrested any moment.

Even viewing blocked URLs may get you arrested?

This is perhaps the most popular myth about the hullabaloo surrounding the ban. The notice doesn' t say that visiting a blocked URL will get you arrested, but the viewing of, downloading, exhibiting, or duplicating/copying an illicit copy of the contents of this URL. In simpler words, visiting a torrent website won' t get you arrested, but downloading pirated content from these websites could. Similarly, watching illegal streams online could also land you in trouble.

Why the viewers are being made liable?

The Bombay High Court recently in its Dishoom John Doe order passed on July 26, 2016, instructed the internet service providers in India to not just block URLs, but also explain to the users, why the URLs have been blocked and possibly warn them of the consequences of illegally accessing copyright work.

Is this a complete ban on torrent sites?

Not anytime soon. Not all torrents have been banned. There are numerous torrents available and no sooner is one torrent taken down, than it is replaced by several others. Even blocked torrents are accessible using easily available virtual private networks. These VPNs are more secure from detection. But torrent users face uncertain times ahead. The state agencies everywhere in the world are catching up and going after big torrents. The arrest of the world' s largest Bit Torrent distributor Kickass Torrent' s founder and the Kickass Torrent subsequently going offline is just the latest in what is emerging as a trend.

In India, once blocked these torrents and other URLs remain blocked for years. And courts are liberally granting requests for preventive blocking of websites on the wishes of filmmakers and content creators.

Advocate Chikirsha Mohanty

4.0 | 2+ user ratings Greater Kailash - 1, Delhi
5 years

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