The Delhi High Court, on December 11, 2024, called for immediate action to broaden participation in the SAHYOG portal, an initiative by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to improve the coordination between Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) and IT intermediaries in combating cybercrime. Despite its potential, the portal has seen slow adoption, with only 16 states and 9 intermediaries currently involved. The court expressed concern over the existing gaps in collaboration, emphasizing the importance of accelerating the portal's rollout to improve the efficiency of criminal investigations.
The bench took a close look at the ongoing issues raised by LEAs in obtaining significant data from intermediaries. Among the significant challenges were delays caused by intermediaries requiring FIRs for data disclosure—even in cases of preventive action—coupled with lengthy response times, sometimes extending from 15 days to a month. "IT intermediaries insist on First Information Reports (FIRs) for data disclosure, even for preventive action, causing delays," the court noted. The use of proxy servers and VPNs in cybercrimes was another major concern, as it often leads to complicated and slow processes such as Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) requests.
The court also took stock of the progress made by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which is tasked with coordinating efforts to tackle cybercrime. Jitender Singh, ACP from I4C, provided a significant update on the SAHYOG portal’s status. He revealed that the first phase of the portal, aimed at tackling unlawful content, will soon go live with all relevant state and UT officers. "Within a month, the first phase of the SAHYOG portal would be operational with all designated state and UT officers onboard," Singh confirmed. However, the court noted that full integration remains a distant goal, with platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn still in discussions about joining.
The lack of an all-encompassing framework is evident, as the current adoption rate of the portal is relatively low, hindering its potential to act as a central hub for data requests and content removal. This slow uptake has been a barrier to realizing the portal's intended goals of providing seamless access to data for criminal investigations and content regulation.
In addition, the court reviewed the efforts of Delhi Police, which has been working on a handbook of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to streamline data requests. The handbook, which is in its final stages, is expected to cover key areas such as data retention policies, emergency data access protocols, and the timeline for responding to various types of criminal investigations, including those related to terrorism and online fraud.
The Delhi High Court further ordered all intermediaries to address the concerns raised by Delhi Police by January 10, 2025, stressing the urgency of compliance for a more effective approach to cybercrime prevention.
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