Ramayana pirated links must now come down within three hours of a takedown notice, the Bombay High Court vacation bench has directed internet service providers and digital platforms, which must also name round-the-clock nodal officers.
Mumbai: Internet service providers (ISPs) and online platforms must remove or block infringing copies of the film Ramayana within three hours of receiving a takedown notice from the producer, the Bombay High Court directed on Friday, a day after the film reached theatres [Godpower Media Private Limited v. John Doe(s) & Ors.].
Vacation judge Justice Ashish S. Chavan, in an order dated November 6, 2026, granted the limited ad-interim relief in aid of the dynamic injunction passed on November 2, 2026 by the regular bench of Justice Madhav J. Jamdar.
The three-hour rule
In addition to the relief and directions in paragraphs 15 and 16 of the November 2 order, the Court directed defendant nos. 2 to 33 to:
“(i) act immediately upon each take-downs/blocking notice issued by the Plaintiff or its authorised representative, and in any event within 3 (three) hours of receipt; (ii) confirm in writing that they will comply with the Order on an immediate, real-time basis and that they have systems and persons in place to do so; (iii) provide the name, e-mail address and telephone number of a designated Nodal Officer for immediate, real-time response.”
These directions are subject to further orders of the regular bench. The earlier ad-interim relief continues, and the matter will be taken up on December 16, 2026.
Why the producer came back
Godpower Media Private Limited, the copyright owner of the film, moved an urgent interim application in its commercial IP suit. Senior Advocate Ashish Kamat told the Court that the film was released theatrically on November 5, and that despite a notice and a reminder dated November 4, defendant nos. 2 to 33 (the ISP and platform defendants) had not confirmed that they would act on takedown requests immediately, as the November 2 order required.
Kamat fairly stated that a substantive and satisfactory response had been received from defendant No. 7, Vodafone India Limited, whose counsel told the Court it had complied and would continue to comply.
The days just after release are the most critical for piracy, he argued, since infringing content left online even for a few minutes can be downloaded and re-uploaded rapidly. The relief sought, he said, only added “a meaningful outer limit of 3 hours” to the word “immediately” in the earlier order.
The Court’s view
The Court perused the producer’s additional affidavit of November 5 and the notice of November 4, and accepted that the concern was genuine.
“Appreciating the submissions at the bar, the concern of the Plaintiff appears to be genuine. After the theatrical release of the Suit Film the infringing contents have surfaced across multiple platforms.”
Why the order matters
Dynamic injunctions let a rights holder have mirror and new pirate sites blocked without returning to court each time. Their weak point has been speed. An order that asks intermediaries to act “immediately” leaves room for delays that, in the first days of a big release, can make takedowns meaningless.
A three-hour ceiling, written confirmation of real-time compliance and a named nodal officer available outside business hours turn a general obligation into a measurable one. They also give the producer a clear basis to return to court if any platform misses the deadline.
Case Title: Godpower Media Private Limited v. John Doe(s) & Ors. [Interim Application (L) No. 37234 of 2026 in Commercial IP Suit (L) No. 37230 of 2026]
Bench: Justice Ashish S. Chavan (Vacation Court), Bombay High Court
Date of Order: November 6, 2026
Appearances: Senior Advocate Ashish Kamat with advocates Rashmin Khandekar, Ameet Naik, Madhu Gadodia and others, instructed by Anand and Naik, for the plaintiff; advocates Akshay Ayush and Sneha Jaisingh, instructed by Bharucha & Partners, for defendant No. 7