Rajasthan government imposes Rs 27 lakh fine on Vodafone in data leak case

Jaipur: In its first case it has heard and dealt with under the IT Act 2000, the Rajasthan government on Monday imposed a fine of Rs 27 lakh on telecom company Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) on a data leak matter.

Officials told IANS that this was the first case filed under the Act, and it is for the first time when action has been taken by an adjudicating officer who instructed the telecom player to pay the penalty amount to the victim within the stipulated time otherwise interest will be levied.

As per official sources, the mobile SIM of a customer was damaged and he applied for a duplicate. However, his SIM was issued to another customer without any verification by the telecom player, and this individual managed to withdraw Rs 68 lakh from the first customer's account as the mobile SIM was connected with his overdraft facility.

The victim, after five days, was able to access his SIM and then came the messages of money withdrawal from his account. He complained about the matter and claimed compensation, under the IT Act, from the company.

Official sources said that the incident occurred in 2020. A police case was filed and the accused were traced in Alwar and arrested. Out of the Rs 68 lakh, around Rs 44 lakh was returned to the customer. But as the remaining amount was pending, the customer filed a complaint under the IT Act.

The matter was heard by the adjudicating officer, Principal Secretary, IT and Communications, Alok Gupta, who, in his order on Monday, imposed a fine of Rs 27.23 lakh on Vodafone. He ordered the company to give the amount to the aggrieved party within a month, otherwise it will have to pay 10 percent interest per annum, said officials.