[Commons-Law] DPS MMS scandal: SC stays proceedings against eBay, its chief
Via: "Prashant Iyengar"
http://www.business-standard.com/india/printpage_sam.php?autono=332573
DPS MMS scandal: SC stays proceedings against eBay, its chief
Press Trust Of India / New Delhi August 26, 2008, 0:40 IST
The Supreme Court today stayed the proceedings against auction portal
eBay India Pvt Ltd and its chief Avinash Bajaj for allegedly
permitting sale of an MMS clip showing two school students from a
Delhi school indulging in a sexual act.
A bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir, while issuing notice to the
Delhi government, stayed the proceedings under Sections 67 and 85 of
the Information Technology Act, 2000.
While Section 67 bans publishing obscene information in electronic
form, Section 85 allows the prosecution of a person responsible for
the business of a company over violations.
Bajaj, the then managing director of baazee.com (now Ebay India Pvt
Ltd), was arraigned for allowing the MMS clip, recorded on a mobile
phone camera, to be uploaded on the company's auction site in 2004.
Bajaj, a US citizen, had subsequently sold baazee.com to eBay in 2004.
Challenging the Delhi High Court judgment that quashed proceedings
under the India Penal Code on May 29 but permitted prosecution under
the I-T Act, Bajaj contended that mere listing could not be construed
as a crime under the act.
Bajaj in his petition stated that Section 67 of the Act does not
define the term obscenity and thus liability cannot be fixed on him
for merely listing of the 2.37-minute video clip even if it was
obscene. "Even assuming that the video clip is obscene, mere 'listing'
cannot be obscene for the purpose of Section 67 of the Act merely
because the video clip may be obscene," he said while seeking quashing
of all the proceedings against him.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/printpage_sam.php?autono=332573
DPS MMS scandal: SC stays proceedings against eBay, its chief
Press Trust Of India / New Delhi August 26, 2008, 0:40 IST
The Supreme Court today stayed the proceedings against auction portal
eBay India Pvt Ltd and its chief Avinash Bajaj for allegedly
permitting sale of an MMS clip showing two school students from a
Delhi school indulging in a sexual act.
A bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir, while issuing notice to the
Delhi government, stayed the proceedings under Sections 67 and 85 of
the Information Technology Act, 2000.
While Section 67 bans publishing obscene information in electronic
form, Section 85 allows the prosecution of a person responsible for
the business of a company over violations.
Bajaj, the then managing director of baazee.com (now Ebay India Pvt
Ltd), was arraigned for allowing the MMS clip, recorded on a mobile
phone camera, to be uploaded on the company's auction site in 2004.
Bajaj, a US citizen, had subsequently sold baazee.com to eBay in 2004.
Challenging the Delhi High Court judgment that quashed proceedings
under the India Penal Code on May 29 but permitted prosecution under
the I-T Act, Bajaj contended that mere listing could not be construed
as a crime under the act.
Bajaj in his petition stated that Section 67 of the Act does not
define the term obscenity and thus liability cannot be fixed on him
for merely listing of the 2.37-minute video clip even if it was
obscene. "Even assuming that the video clip is obscene, mere 'listing'
cannot be obscene for the purpose of Section 67 of the Act merely
because the video clip may be obscene," he said while seeking quashing
of all the proceedings against him.
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