Can I get an unlawful website blocked in India?

Question

A fraudulent website is using my company's brand name to scam customers and I want it taken down. Specifically, I want to know how Information Technology Act, 2000 – Section 69A applies to a situation like mine and what the cyber law position in India actually is. If there is a deadline I should be aware of, I need to know that now.

MyVakeel Legal Desk · Accepted Answer

Can I get an unlawful website blocked in India? is governed in India primarily by Information Technology Act, 2000 – Section 69A, Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking) Rules, 2009 and Trade Marks Act, 1999 – Section 29. Outcomes in section 69a website blocking disputes depend heavily on documentation, so check what you can actually evidence as you read.

Section 69A empowers the Central Government to direct blocking of public access to information/websites in the interest of sovereignty, security, public order or to prevent incitement to a cognizable offence.

Under the 2009 Blocking Rules, a designated officer examines requests and the website operator is normally given an opportunity of hearing before an emergency or regular blocking order is issued.

Private parties cannot directly invoke Section 69A; complaints are routed through a nodal ministry/agency or through a court order directing blocking, so a civil suit for trademark infringement under Section 29 is often filed in parallel.

Courts have also granted 'dynamic injunctions' blocking mirror/rogue websites without requiring a fresh suit for each new domain, which is useful against scam sites that keep changing URLs.

Simultaneously report the fraudulent site to cybercrime.gov.in so a criminal investigation into cheating under the IT Act can proceed alongside the blocking request.

In practice, in this order: 1) Gather evidence of the fake website's content and its use of your brand; 2) File a complaint with CERT-In or the relevant nodal ministry for blocking; 3) File a civil suit for trademark infringement seeking an injunction and dynamic blocking order; 4) Report the fraud to cybercrime.gov.in for criminal action.

Timing matters here: Information Technology Act, 2000 – Section 69A works on limitation periods, so a section 69a website blocking claim that is right on the merits can still fail if it is brought late. You can post the details on the MyVakeel forum for a practising advocate to review, or book a paid consultation with a Bar Council verified lawyer in cyber law.