Delhi High Court orders blocking website offering fake 'work from home' jobs

Delhi High Court orders blocking website offering fake 'work from home' jobs

The matter will be heard on September 27

The Delhi High Court has directed the immediate blocking of a fraudulent website registered under the domain name https://india-mart.co/, which is engaged in the practice of duping the public by offering work-from-home jobs by charging them a fee.

The bench comprising Justice Pratibha Singh while hearing a trademark infringement suit Indiamart Intermesh Ltd. vs Sameer Samim Khan ruled that irreparable damage could be caused to the public at large by the fraudulent activities of the website.

Indiamart claimed that Khan, the defendant, launched the website under the domain name 'https://india-mart.co/' and was fraudulently offering jobs using the 'Indiamart' mark and name in an unauthorized manner.

Khan was luring gullible persons and offering them 'work from home' jobs under the 'Indiamart's Data Entry Project'. For this purpose, various plans were available after the application fees of Rs.899-Rs.1199 was paid.

The court passed an ex-parte ad interim injunction in favor of Indiamart, a business-to-business portal providing an internet-based marketplace with free and paid listings for the promotion of industry, products, and services.

The bench held, "It is clear that the defendant is indulging in fraudulent activity by showcasing itself as the plaintiff/plaintiff's representative and collecting money by allegedly offering job opportunities."

It held that Indiamart had successfully made out a prima facie case for grant of an injunction.

The court's order stated, "If the activities of the defendant are not nipped in the bud, irreparable damage would be caused not only to the plaintiff, but also to people, who may be deceived by the defendant."

The court ordered restraining the defendant's website from using the mark, name, or the domain name, 'Indiamart' or any other mark or name or domain name identical to it. The bench further directed the immediate blocking of the fraudulent website and the locking and suspension of the domain name.

The judge also asked the domain name registrar, GoDaddy, to place on record the details of the person who had registered the domain name. Further, the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime Unit was directed to investigate the matter and file a status report by the next date of hearing.

Meanwhile, the counsel for Union Bank of India assured the court that the bank account of the defendant would be frozen with immediate effect.

Advocates Sidharth Chopra, Nitin Sharma, Deepika, Naman Tandon, and Yatinder Garg appeared for Indiamart. Advocate Nazia Parveen represented the Union Bank of India, advocate Hetu Arora Sethi appeared for the Delhi Police and advocate Raman Lamba appeared for the Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations of the Delhi Police.