Section 26 IT Act: Notice of suspension or revocation of licence
Information Technology Act, 2000
Section 26 IT Act at a Glance
Section 26 IT Act requires the Controller to publish notice whenever a Certifying Authority's licence is suspended or revoked. The notice must appear in the Controller's database, in all specified repositories, and on a website accessible round the clock.
Section 26 IT Act Bare Act Text
26. Notice of suspension or revocation of licence.
(1) Where the licence of the Certifying Authority is suspended or revoked, the Controller shall publish notice of such suspension or revocation, as the case may be, in the data base maintained by him.
(2) Where one or more repositories are specified, the Controller shall publish notices of such suspension or revocation, as the case may be, in all such repositories:
Provided that the data base containing the notice of such suspension or revocation, as the case may be, shall be made available through a web site which shall be accessible round the clock:
Provided further that the Controller may, if he considers necessary, publicise the contents of data base in such electronic or other media, as he may consider appropriate.
Section 26 IT Act in Simple Words
Section 26 IT Act requires public notice whenever a Certifying Authority's licence is suspended or revoked under Section 25 IT Act. Under Section 26(1) IT Act, where the licence of a Certifying Authority is suspended or revoked, the Controller must publish notice of that suspension or revocation in the database maintained by the Controller.
Under Section 26(2) IT Act, where one or more repositories are specified, the Controller must also publish notices of the suspension or revocation in all of those specified repositories. Both publication duties in Section 26(1) and Section 26(2) IT Act are mandatory for the Controller.
Section 26(2) IT Act contains two provisos on public access and wider publicity. Under the first proviso, the database containing the notice of suspension or revocation must be made available through a website that is accessible round the clock. Under the second proviso, if the Controller considers it necessary, the Controller may also publicise the contents of the database in electronic or other media that the Controller considers appropriate.
When Section 26 IT Act Applies
- Suspension or revocation of the licence of a Certifying Authority.
- Mandatory publication by the Controller of notice of the suspension or revocation in the database maintained by the Controller.
- Mandatory publication by the Controller of notices in all specified repositories, where one or more repositories are specified.
- Continuous availability of the database containing the notice on a website accessible round the clock.
- Discretionary publicity of the database contents by the Controller in electronic or other media if considered necessary.
Example of Section 26 IT Act
FAQs on Section 26 IT Act
What is Section 26 IT Act?▼
Section 26 IT Act requires the Controller to publish notice of any suspension or revocation of a Certifying Authority's licence in the Controller's database and in all specified repositories. The database containing that notice must be accessible round the clock through a website, and the Controller may also publicise the database contents in electronic or other media if considered necessary.
Who must publish the notice when a Certifying Authority's licence is suspended or revoked under Section 26 IT Act?▼
The Controller. Under Section 26(1) and Section 26(2) IT Act, the Controller must publish the notice in the database maintained by the Controller and in all specified repositories.
Must the website showing licence suspension or revocation notices stay accessible at all hours under Section 26 IT Act?▼
Yes. The first proviso to Section 26(2) IT Act requires the database containing the notice of suspension or revocation to be made available through a website accessible round the clock.
Must the Controller publish licence suspension or revocation notices in newspapers or broadcast media under Section 26 IT Act?▼
No, wider media publicity is optional. Under the second proviso to Section 26(2) IT Act, the Controller may publicise the contents of the database in electronic or other media only if the Controller considers it necessary.
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Sources: Bare Act Text, Information Technology Act, 2000 ·