Access the transcript of court proceedings here.
At the first hearing in Gamban’s petition against the Ministry of Electronics and IT’s (MeitY’s) Section 69A blocking order, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court declined to fast-track the matter despite the anti-gambling-addiction app’s website having been inaccessible in India for more than three years and listed the matter for September 30, 2026 as MeitY sought time to submit their response after instructions.
Already three years have passed since the block, whats the urgency now? argues Delhi HC: When Gamban’s counsel argued that three years had passed without any decision, and asked the court to place that on record the judge stated that it is not a submission and said in Hindi that ‘three years had indeed gone by, so what was the urgency today.’ Delhi HC listed the case for September 30, 2026, rejecting Gamban’s request for an earlier hearing in August.
HC asks MeitY to conduct a personal meeting with Gamban to explain the reasoning behind the blocking order: Justice Sharma asked MeitY to commit to a timeline for a their submission and suggested the Ministry give Gamban a personal hearing. “I’m not saying that you do this or you do that. Please, just decide. Let people do whatever they want to. They are always in confusion about ho kya raha hai (what is happening)”, said Justice Sharma. MeitY’s counsel responded saying that they’ll come back to Delhi HC with instructions tomorrow (July 21).
MeitY cites May 2025 response that said concerned nodal agency would ‘revert shortly:’ On the delay, MeitY’s counsel pushed back on Gamban’s narrative, telling the court that Gamban itself had taken over a year to respond to the Ministry’s communications and was now “pressing for urgency.” She referred to a letter in which MeitY had asked Gamban to explain why it should have access to certain financial disclosures, and said Gamban took a year to reply. She cited a May 5, 2025 email to Gamban stating that its request for unblocking had been “forwarded to the Concerned Nodal Agency for further examination” and that the Ministry would revert “shortly.”
Pressed repeatedly by the court to name a decision timeline, MeitY’s counsel said she could not commit to one without instructions and asked to return the next day with a response.
During the proceedings the MeitY’s counsel also mentioned that no final decision on unblocking had yet been taken yet.
Gamban hasn’t listed intermediaries as parties to the case, argues MeitY: Appearing on behalf of MeitY, the Ministry’s counsel first raised a preliminary objection: Gamban’s petition had not impleaded the necessary parties, since it named only the Union of India as respondent and not the intermediaries (like internet service providers) which are actually blocking the platform. She said MeitY could only issue directions to these intermediaries but did not itself have visibility into who they are exactly.
Gamban asks MeitY to list the intermediaries and demands sharing the blocking order along with listed reasoning: Appearing for Gamban, its counsel told the court that despite writing five letters and representations to MeitY over three years the Ministry had neither shared a copy of the blocking order nor given the company any opportunity of a hearing. He also asked that MeitY be directed to give Gamban a post-decisional hearing and share the blocking order along with the reasons and material behind it.
Citing Rules 8 and 9 of the Blocking Rules, he sought a court direction compelling MeitY to identify the intermediaries enforcing the block, arguing that only the Ministry possessed this information.
A brief background of the case; Why MeitY has blocked Gamban in India: Gamban is a UK-based, nine-year-old self-exclusion app that helps people recovering from gambling addiction by blocking their access to betting, casino and online money-gaming apps and websites. It does not offer any gambling services itself. The company says it operates in 197 countries, is ISO-certified, and has tie-ups with regulators including Norway’s Norsk Tipping, the Welsh Government, and gaming control boards in Ohio and Michigan.
Gamban’s website and app became inaccessible in India on February 7, 2023, after MeitY issued blocking orders under Section 69A of the IT Act targeting a batch of gambling applications — Gamban’s petition claims it was swept up in that action by mistake.
Despite writing to MeitY five times since 2023, Gamban says it received its first substantive response only on May 6, 2025, over three years after the block. Th response had the following allegations:
- Concerns regarding user data privacy, especially for Android users.
- The app functioned as a super app on the device, monitoring browser searches and history while also accessing other apps, including sensitive banking and financial apps.
- Users might see an increase in gambling-related advertisements if they don’t continue their subscription.
MeitY also asked Gamban to undergo a security audit by a government-approved agency, without sharing a copy of the actual blocking order. Explore more about the case from [MediaNama’s previous reporting here.]
On July 9, Gamban filed its writ petition , naming the Union of India as the respondent. It has asked the Delhi High Court to direct MeitY to produce all records relating to the blocking under Rule 15 of the Blocking Rules, produce the Review Committee’s findings under Rule 7, quash the blocking orders issued under Section 69A, and restore access to its website and app in India, including directions to Google Play Store, Apple App Store and ISPs along with compensation for costs incurred. Read MediaNama’s explainer of their petition here.
Follow the case: The matter will next be heard on September 30, 2026. You can track this case on Delhi HC website following this case number: W.P.(C)-9658/2026
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