Delhi Court quashes charges against Microsoft India

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court Monday quashed charges of hosting objectionable content against Microsoft India and set aside a trial court order for initiating criminal proceedings against the company for lack of evidence. Setting aside the proceedings, Justice Suresh Kait said: “There is no evidence on record against the petitioner. Justice Kait accepted the company’s plea that Microsoft was not providing a platform to people to interact with each other and post or publish their views, but one engaged in development and sale of software and computing solutions. The company’s counsel told the court that no defamatory material was posted on its websites, and Microsoft India is not a social networking site or search engine. The move came as Microsoft India approached the high court, challenging the trial court’s order initiating criminal proceedings against it for hosting “obscene and derogatory content”. The high court also gave the complainant Vinay Rai liberty to fi le a fresh complaint if any credible piece of evidence was found against the company. The company in its petition submitted that there is not even an iota of evidence against the Microsoft India. “Still no offence whatsoever is disclosed against the company.” “The complaint is wholly false and malicious and has been lodged with an ulterior motive to cause harassment and to blackmail the company and other offi cers of the company,” the petition said while seeking quashing of proceedings against it. Rai had approached the trial court to remove objectionable content from 21 websites, including Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Yahoo and YouTube. Among these, 12 websites are of companies based abroad. Metropolitan Magistrate Sudesh Kumar had summoned the companies to face trial for allegedly committing offences punishable under the Indian Penal Code sections 292 (sale of obscene books and material) and 293 (sale of obscene objects to young persons). The trial court observed that the material submitted by the complainant contained obscene pictures and derogatory articles pertaining to Hindu deities, Prophet Muhammad and Jesus Christ