DELHI HIGH COURT has granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favour of JioStar India, directing the immediate and real-time blocking of rogue websites found to be illegally streaming cricket content for which JioStar holds exclusive broadcast reproduction rights.
The Court acknowledged JioStar as the exclusive rights holder for the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026, currently being played from 15 January to 6 February, as well as the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2026, scheduled from 7 February to 8 March. These rights arise from a media rights agreement with the International Cricket Council and cover television and digital broadcasting and streaming through JioStar’s linear channels and its OTT platform, JioHotstar.
Taking note of clear evidence of ongoing illegal dissemination and the live, time-sensitive nature of sports broadcasts, the Court observed that piracy websites function through an organised and systematic model of infringement, often reappearing via mirror or redirect domains. It held that any delay in blocking such platforms would cause irreparable harm, significant revenue loss and erosion of JioStar’s exclusive rights.
The Court therefore directed Domain Name Registrars, Internet Service Providers, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to block access to identified rogue websites immediately upon receiving intimation.
Crucially, the order provides for dynamic and real-time enforcement. For the duration of the tournaments, any newly identified infringing websites can be blocked immediately on the basis of information submitted by JioStar, without the need for fresh court proceedings on each occasion.
The Court also reiterated that injunctions in piracy-related matters must be effective, dynamic and responsive to evolving technology, particularly in cases involving live content that is created and infringed in real time.
