Form special team to probe emails sent to Tata firm: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has directed the Mumbai Police to constitute a "special team" of officials, who are experienced in dealing with cyber crimes, to probe into allegations of defamatory emails received by a subsidiary company of the Tata Motors.

A vacation bench, presided by Justice SJ Kathawalla, also directed the Mumbai Police Commissioner to file a report by May 22 this year, both on the team and the progress made in the probe.

The bench was hearing a suit filed last year by the Tata Motors Insurance Broking & Advisory Services (TMIBASL), a subsidiary company of Tata Motors.

As per the suit, for over a year now, senior officials of the TMIBASL and other group companies, have been receiving emails from several 'fictitious' email addresses containing "slanderous and defamatory" allegations against the company, its CEO and other officials of TMIBASL.

In a hearing conducted last week, TMIBASL informed the bench that, recently, similar emails were also sent to the official email address of the Delhi Police Commissioner.

Meanwhile, the Cyber Cell of the city police has informed the court that it had written to the Google India for assistance, and that it was yet to receive details of all the email addresses that were being used to spread the said content.

"Though some response is received from Google, the advocate appearing for the plaintiffs (TMIBASL) points out that further emails have been sent to the Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, under an email address that appears to be fictitious, making allegations against the senior officials/ executives of the Tata Group.

"Though the Cyber Cell, Mumbai has been investigating the matter for more than one year, it has not made any headway in identifying the culprits and taking action against them. In view thereof, the Commissioner of Police, Greater Mumbai is directed to, forthwith, form a special team of police officers, who have experience in solving cyber crimes, to investigate the matter," the bench said.