Sure that every one of us visited torrent site atleast once and got addicted to it.
But wait…
Indian government has banned thousands of websites and URLs in the last five odd years with the help of internet service providers.
And Torrentz too gave us emotional farewell
Until now it was fine to visit
However, now if you try to visit such URLs and view the information, whether viewing a torrent file, or downloading a file from a host that was banned, will land you in jail for 3 years as well as a fine of Rs 3 lakh.
If you visit such a URL, you will be shown the following warning
"This URL has been blocked under the instructions of the Competent Government Authority or in compliance with the orders of a Court of competent jurisdiction. Viewing, downloading, exhibiting or duplicating an illicit copy of the contents under this URL is punishable as an offence under the laws of India, including but not limited to under Sections 63, 63-A, 65 and 65-A of the Copyright Act, 1957 which prescribe imprisonment for 3 years and also fine of upto Rs. 3,00,000/-. Any person aggrieved by any such blocking of this URL may contact at urlblock@tatacommunications.com who will, within 48 hours, provide you the details of relevant proceedings under which you can approach the relevant High Court or Authority for redressal of your grievance"
How This Issue Came Up?
The issue is likely due to the John Doe orders that Indian courts are issuing at the regular interval at the request of content creators like Bollywood film makers. The lawyers of film studios often approach courts ahead of a movie's release seeking preventive blocks on the URLs they compile in the list.
Bombay High Court Verdict
According to SpicyIP, Bombay High Court recently asked internet service providers in India to not just block URLs but also explain to users why the URLs are blocked and possibly warn them of consequences of illegally accessing copyright work.
The idea is to tell consumers that downloading a film is illegal and if they download a film, they will face trouble.
Managed By Tata Communications
The latest warning message clearly implies that the URL blocking is now happening at the internet gateways – in this particular case for the example the gateway is seemingly managed by Tata Communications
As far as the warning message is concerned, it makes it clear that visiting any blocked URL in India and not just a torrent URL, has the potential to land a web user in trouble.