Karnataka High Court directs the Centre to block Proton Mail for enabling anonymous vulgar emails and national security threats. The court cited serious privacy loopholes and lack of cooperation from the Swiss-based email service.
Karnataka: On Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court directed the Central Government to take action to block Proton Mail’s operations in India. This decision was given by Justice M. Nagaprasanna while hearing a case filed by M Moser Design Associates India Private Limited.
The company had filed a petition after some vulgar and offensive emails were sent using Proton Mail to its employees and clients, targeting one of their staff members.
The company pointed out that Proton Mail allows users to remain anonymous, which makes it hard to trace the sender of such harmful emails. They said this was a serious risk for not just their company but for the country as well.
In their petition, they asked the court to give directions to either regulate the way Proton Mail functions in India or to completely block it.
The Court gave the following order:
“A mandamus is issued to Respondents 2, 4, and 5 (Central government authorities) to issue proceedings in terms of Section 69A of IT Act 2008 read with rule 10 of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking Access Of Information By Public) Rules, 2009 to block Proton Mail bearing in mind the observations made in the course of the order.”
Advocate Jatin Sehgal, who represented the company, told the Court that a police complaint had already been filed, but it was very difficult to investigate because Proton Mail was not sharing any information about who had sent the emails.
Sehgal also said that
“Proton Mail has even removed its servers from India.”
He mentioned that Proton Mail has also been used recently to send bomb threats to schools in India.
Sehgal added,
“It’s not only I that have suffered, it’s a national threat.”
He further told the Court that Proton Mail’s own website helps users learn how to avoid being tracked by Indian authorities.
he argued,
“It only takes 30 seconds to create a Proton ID, without any ID verification,”
The petition also asked for directions to contact Swiss authorities, since Proton Mail is based in Switzerland, and request them to make Proton Mail share the details needed for the investigation.
The Court said that even while the government works on this matter, any URLs (web links) that were used to send offensive emails must be taken down immediately.
the Court ordered,
“Till such proceedings are taken up and concluded by the government of India (to block Proton Mail), the offending URLs indicated in the petition shall be blocked forthwith,”
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aravind Kamath, who appeared for the Central Government, told the Court that there were some limits to what the Centre could do in terms of investigating the email complaint. This was because the cooperation of Swiss authorities was required for any progress.
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He explained,
“We have a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Switzerland. The petitioner has lodged a complaint, criminal court is dealing with that. It is the IO which has to use the machinery and that court has to set in motion that process. I, as MHA or MEITY, I cannot deal with it.”
ASG Kamath also said that he would look into the recent observations made by the Delhi High Court about Proton Mail. He assured the Court that the government would consider these concerns seriously.
After the Court had reserved its decision on March 21, it finally delivered the order today asking the Central Government to take necessary steps to block Proton Mail’s services in India. The official judgment copy is still awaited.
This case raises important questions about user privacy, internet safety, and the role of encrypted email services in India. It also brings to focus the legal mechanisms available to handle such international tech-related issues.
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