IIPM - Blog Wars: An Offer of Legal Advice

Desipundit is still tracking the story extremely well. Do visit it for the complete coverage and the latest on this issue. Now there's even a Wikipedia entry on IIPM and the present controversy. Ravikiran has posted detailed instructions on the steps you can take through your little blog to make a difference in this issue.

You'll find my earlier posts on this issue here and here.

Meanwhile another blogger, Varna, has been issued a legal notice by IIPM. She is not unduly perturbed and stands by her words.

The notice to Varna is virtually a copy-paste of the one sent to Gaurav Sabnis.

I got one of lawyer friends to take a look at the notice yesterday. He almost fell over laughing as he read it. Post that, he started calling his colleagues and reading out choice excerpts from the "judicially Notarized" email. And, thanked me for showing him such an entertaining piece of legalese.

My friend, said that the notice is ridiculous and packed with legal jargon -- apart from it can only stand in court as a joke. For starters, he said, there's no way IIPM can send a notice that's "judicially notarized." Notarization is a prerogative of a Notary appointed by a court. Notices are never and cannot be notarized. IIPM's claim to have notarized their notice can land them in soup for they are "taking over" a right that exclusively belongs to courts. Unless, he said, IIPM has established a parallel judicial system in the country that allows them to send such notices. My friend also believes that Gaurav, Rashmi, and Varna have far better grounds for suing IIPM for trampling on their fundamental rights as India citizens (and for harassment) and claiming damages.

My lawyer friend, Amod Paranjape who runs a firm called Paranjape Varma Legal Associates, is ready to help bloggers with any legal help, clarifications, or advice if they need it for this issue. His colleagues and other lawyer friends too are ready to help.

Also I am trying to get Amod to take some time off and dissect the notice for us. That'll help us know where exactly we stand on this issue. Hopefully, he'll agree to do that.

Amod, meanwhile, can be contacted at: amodparanjape [at] gmail [dot] com.

In case any one wants to talk to him, please write to me and I'll mail you his cell number.