We are not a social networking website: Yahoo India

The internet company seeks dismissal of “motivated” suit alleging it hosted objectionable content

February 22, 2012 01:10 am | Updated November 17, 2021 12:18 am IST - NEW DELHI:

In a written statement filed in a civil court here, Yahoo India has dubbed a suit — filed against it and several other websites alleging that they hosted objectionable content — as “motivated” and an “abuse of the process of law.”

Seeking the dismissal of the suit, the internet company said nowhere in the complaint was it stated that such objectionable material was hosted or present on its website. The plaintiff, Mufti Aijaz Arshad Qasmi, had not annexed any document to show that the offensive material was taken from its website, it said.

“The present suit is not only motivated but also a complete abuse of the process of law,” the company said in the written statement which Additional Civil Judge Praveen Singh had directed all the defendants to file. Facebook India has also filed its reply.

“The Defendant No:5 [Yahoo] has needlessly, and for no fault of its own been, condemned to undergo a long-drawn trial due to the mistake of the plaintiff [Qasmi] of bunching the defendant with other ‘social networking websites' and holding the defendant also liable for the offences allegedly committed by other ‘social networking websites.' The defendant is primarily a content portal offering e-mail and messenger communication services but not offering features generally associated with social networking websites,” Yahoo India said in the affidavit.

The company said it was lumped with the other “prominent” websites on the “patently mistaken assumption” that it was also a social networking website. “The defendant is being forced to go through a long and expensive trial with the resultant negative media publicity, social stigma, and adverse impact on its business prospects, without there being any allegation or claim against it,” Yahoo India said.

In its prayer, the company also demanded that exemplary costs and litigation costs be awarded in favour of it and against the plaintiff, Mr. Qasmi.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.