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A Supreme Court bench of Justices UU Lalit, Ravindra Bhat and PS Narasimha today quashed certain directions issued by Punjab and Haryana High Court to OLX India, an online marketplace company, in a matter pertaining to a fraud committed through the company's platform.

In December last year, the High Court directed that all the advertisements on the OLX platform be deleted and be re-listed only after attaching an open PDF file along with each advertisement, containing the following:

1. At least two identity proofs of the person, who is proposing to sell a property (moveable or immoveable) or asking any professional service;
2. Two mobile numbers with a screenshot/photocopy of the message sent by the server, who issued the SIM verifying the name of the owner as per their record;
3. Details of the property to be sold whether moveable or immoveable and a 'document of title' like Registration Certificate or insurance paper for vehicles or sale deed etc. for a property;
4. In aforesaid five Districts, (Gurugram, Faridabad, Rewari, Palwal, and Mewat), in case, the proposed seller is residing in a village or in the area of Municipal Corporation/MunicipalCouncil, a certificate of Member of the Panchayat or Municipal Councillor certifying that the proposed seller is not involved in any such or similar criminal case and is a genuine owner of the property;
5. Only by putting this information in the PDF file, the advertisements will be accepted by OLX or any other such agency and will be floated for the general public.

Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for OLX before the top court submitted that "all that OLX has been doing was to make available the services of an internet platform through which advertisements for the sale of products can be made."

Stressing that the high court ought not to have issued notice or interim directions, he further submitted that as an intermediary, the liability of OLX cannot be penalised and it cannot be asked to guarantee the quality of the goods or merchandise that has been put up for sale or to certify the correctness of the deal. 

Court on hearing submissions forwarded by Sr. Adv. Luthra quashed the directions issued by the High Court to OLX. Court further directed OLX to agitate other issues before the High Court.

Case title: OLX India Vs State of Haryana