It clarified that it is not looking at the responsibility or liability of Google for publishing judgments online as per the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
“The contention by the learned counsel for Google that they are only an intermediary and they are not liable for the contents or publication of the judgments, no doubt, the said contention has to be upheld. We are not here to decide upon compliance or noncompliance with the Intermediary Rules,” the Court said.
Rather, the Court said that it is concerned with the eternal nature of information online, which goes against the right to be forgotten.
“The publication of the judgments online and allowing the same to remain online forever may infringe upon the right of a party based on the right to be forgotten. We have already adverted to the nature of a right that can be claimed as a right to be forgotten. If the judgments of the Court are allowed to remain online for eternity, certainly, it would invade such rights of the parties.“
Therefore, it said that in the absence of legislation, litigants may have to approach the Court and it may have to recognise their right and direct removal of such content available online on a case-to-case basis.
“The Court cannot generally balance the interest claimed by the individuals and the information available in the digital domain for eternity. The Court, no doubt, would be able to form an opinion after adverting to the attending circumstances of a particular case to order the removal of personal data or erasure of such data from digital space after considering the factors relating to such cases.“
Source: Barandbench
