The Karnataka High Court has reserved its order on a petition filed by M Moser Design Associates India Pvt Ltd, urging the Union Government to take necessary steps to ban Proton Mail in India. The plea raises serious concerns regarding the email service provider’s compliance with Indian laws and its potential misuse for criminal activities.
Justice M Nagaprasanna, after hearing the arguments from all parties, observed:
"He (petitioner) is aiding you (Government) to do something through the competent court. It is a serious issue, we will pass orders. Absolutely in the terms of the procedure stipulated. The Central government will have to act now."
Advocate Jatin Saighal, representing the petitioner, argued that Proton Mail's servers are located outside India and the company claims it is not bound by Indian laws. He pointed out that the service allows users to select India as their server location, creating the false impression that they are operating from within the country.
Further, he highlighted that Proton Mail has been used to send multiple bomb threats to schools in India, making it a national security concern. He emphasized that Russia and Saudi Arabia have already banned the service due to similar concerns. He also cited the Information Technology Act and relevant rules, stating that:
"Under the IT Act, servers should either be within the country or the government should have access to them."
Regarding the maintainability of the petition, he relied on Section 69 of the IT Act, arguing that the High Court has the authority to issue directions for banning such services, calling it a parallel remedy rather than an alternative one.
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He further stated:
"As a country, we do not allow any entity to operate without complying with Indian laws. If you do not provide server access to law enforcement agencies, you cannot operate in India."
Government's Response
Additional Solicitor General Aravind Kamath, appearing for the Union Government, responded that:
"We have a mutual agreement of assistance between India and Switzerland. A letter of rogatory can be issued by a competent criminal court at the request of the investigating officer to seek information from another country. Thus, the Ministry of Home Affairs or MEITY cannot directly deal with the issue."
Regarding the demand for banning Proton Mail, he stated:
"If there is a direction given under the relevant rules by the High Court, we will comply with it."
Following these submissions, the High Court reserved its order.
Background of the Case
The petitioner, M Moser Design Associates India Pvt Ltd, filed a complaint with the police regarding the misuse of Proton Mail. According to the plea, senior female employees of the company were targeted through obscene, abusive, and derogatory emails containing AI-generated deepfake images and explicit content. These emails were sent to various staff members, associates, vendors, and competitors, causing severe reputational and psychological harm.
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Despite an FIR being registered on 09.11.2024, the police allegedly took no effective steps to identify the accused. The petitioner approached the Jurisdictional Magistrate, requesting court-monitored police investigation. However, the police report indicated a lack of concrete action, and no attempts were made to utilize the mutual legal assistance arrangement between India and Switzerland.
The plea seeks a direction to the police to collect all necessary information and documents regarding the sender of the emails through the India-Switzerland mutual legal assistance framework. Additionally, it urges the police to promptly seek Letters Rogatory through the jurisdictional magistrate, requesting the Federal Office of Justice, Switzerland, to provide relevant information.
Case Title: M MOSER DESIGN ASSOCIATES INDIA PVT LTD AND State of Karnataka & Others
Case No: WP 2358/2025
