K'taka HC quashes PhonePe plea in online betting case

Digital intermediaries cannot use privacy laws to avoid cooperating with lawful criminal investigations, the Karnataka high court has held, as it dismissed a petition filed by digital payments platform PhonePe that had challenged a notice by the Bengaluru police seeking user information linked to an alleged online sports betting case.

- Ayesha Arvind

BENGALURU:

Justice M Nagaprasanna, who delivered the verdict on April 29, observed that while user privacy is important, it cannot override lawful investigations, especially amid the recent surge in cybercrimes.

"The protection of consumer privacy cannot eclipse the lawful imperative of investigating officers to secure evidence and take the investigation to its logical conclusion. Confidentiality must coexist with accountability," the court said in the order.

The verdict came on a petition filed by PhonePe challenging a December 2022 police notice issued under Section 91 of the erstwhile Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), seeking details of a user linked to the betting transactions and a betting site accused of forgery.