The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to respond to a plea seeking to block e-commerce websites and a mobile application being operated by a Chinese company, SPPIN India Pvt Ltd, on the allegation that it may threaten the security and integrity of the country.
A Bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh gave the direction on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha seeking action against the company, alleging that it has been operating in contravention with the Foreign Direct Investment Policy (FDI) and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) norms. The High Court directed the Centre to respond to the petition and posted the case for further hearing on January 11.
The company is operating e-commerce websites, seller.shopee.in and shopee.in, and a mobile application Shopee:Online Shopping.
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Foreign investments
The petition has sought direction to the Centre to investigate the foreign investments received in SPPIN India Pvt. Ltd and other similar entities incorporated here.
“The petitioner has come to understand that the actions of SPPIN and the inactions of the respondents are likely to have a grave and imminent danger to the security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of India,” the plea said.
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“The petitioner has also come to understand that the public and private data of the Indian citizens collected by SPPIN is likely to be compromised, given that such data is believed to be stored on a cloud space, which, directly or indirectly, is accessible to the Chinese Government,” the plea said.