IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 14.07.2025 CORAM THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE SENTHILKUMAR RAMAMOORTHY C.S.(Comm.Div.) No.178 of 2024 M/s.Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Ltd., Registered Office at No.1, New Tank Street, Valluvar Kottam High Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai 600034, Rep. by its Chief Human Resources Officer Mr.Sriram Ragunandhanan. ... Plaintiff -vs- 1. M/s. Telegram Messenger Inc. 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ. 2. M/s.Telegram FZ LLC, Business Central Towers, Tower A, Office 1003/1004, P.O.Box 501919, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 3. M/s.Cloudflare India Pvt. Ltd., No.215, Richmond Towers, No.12, Richmond Road, Richmond Town, Bangalore, Karnataka 560 025. 4.M/s.Cloudflare, Inc 1/7 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 101 Townsend St., San Francisco CA 94107, USA. 5.Ashok Kumar 6.Xenzen ... Defendants Prayer: Plaint is filed under Order VII Rule 1 of CPC Read With Order IV Rule 1 of the Original Side Rules Read With Section 7 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, praying to grant a judgment and decree on the following terms:- (a) Declaring that the hacking and unauthorised accessing of the Exfiltrated Data relating to confidential, sensitive and personal information of the Plaintiff, its customers, employees and business activities from the systems of the Plaintiff is illegal and violates the rights and interests of the Plaintiff; (b) Granting a permanent injunction restraining the Defendants, its men, servants, agents, representatives, customers, users and any other person acting through or under them from publishing, posting, exhibiting, displaying, providing access, making available or continuing to do the same, online or in any other manner whatsoever, the Exfiltrated Data relating to confidential, sensitive and personal information of the Plaintiff, its customers, employees and business activities; (c) Granting a permanent injunction restraining the Defendants, its men, servants, agents, representatives, customers, users and any other person acting through or under them from publishing, posting, exhibiting, 2/7 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis displaying, providing access, making available or continuing to do the same, online or in any other manner whatsoever, the trade names “Star”, “Star Health”, “Star Health Insurance” and logo and domain name, www.starhealth.in or any permutations or combinations thereof; (d) Directing the Defendants to pay the costs of the suit. For Plaintiff : Mr.Krishna Srinivasan, Senior Advocate for M/s.S.Ramasubramaniam & Associates For D2 : Ms.E.N.Hareepriya for Mr.Thriyambak J.Kannan D1, D3 & D4 : Set ex parte on 18.06.2025 JUDGMENT The suit was filed for a declaration that the hacking and unauthorised accessing of the confidential, sensitive and personal information of the plaintiff, its customers, employees and business activities is illegal and for consequential injunctive relief in relation thereto. 2. The suit is directed against four named defendants and two unnamed defendants. Notice in the interlocutory application was effected not only by service thereof on the named respondents, but also by 3/7 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis publication in one issue of the English daily, 'The Hindu', all India edition. The interlocutory applications were disposed of by making the ad interim order, as modified, absolute on 02.12.2024. 3. Suit summons was served on the 3rd defendant through Court on 24.10.2024 and on the 4th defendant privately on 27.02.2025. The 1st defendant refused to receive suit summons. In those circumstances, by order dated 18.06.2025, the 1st, 3rd and 4th defendants were set ex parte. The 2nd defendant is represented through counsel and has submitted that the infringing material has been removed. 4. The documents filed along with the plaint include screenshots from the platform of the 1st and 2nd defendants, and attachments in PDF titled 'Star Health Leak' mentioned therein. There are references to leaked policy details of customers of the plaintiff. The plaintiff has also filed reports in leading English dailies on the data leak of confidential, sensitive, and personal information of the plaintiff and its customers. By considering these 4/7 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis documents, ad interim relief was granted at the time of admission and such order was made absolute later. 5. In the above facts and circumstances, the injunctive relief prayed for by the plaintiff is liable to be granted. As regards the declaratory relief, subject to the relief being granted only in respect of the unnamed 5th and 6th defendants, such relief is also liable to be granted. 6. Therefore, the suit is decreed in terms of clause (a) of the prayer paragraph by declaring that the hacking and unauthorised accessing of the exfiltrated data of the plaintiff, its customers, employees and business activities by the 5th & 6th defendants is illegal. The suit is further decreed in terms of clause (b) and clause (c) of the prayer paragraph. There shall be no order as to costs. 14.07.2025 Index : Yes/No Internet : Yes/No Neutral Citation : Yes/No kj 5/7 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis Documents on the side of the plaintiff: Sl.No. Date Description 1. 28.04.2023 Photocopy of the Power of Attorney 2. 10.09.2024 Office copy of the legal notice issued by the plaintiff 3. 11.09.2024 to 21.09.2024 Computer generated copy of Email correspondences 4. Computer generated copy of screenshots of Telegram Bots and Websites 5. - Computer generated copy of print articles 6. - Computer generated copy of wire and online articles 14.07.2025 6/7 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis SENTHILKUMAR RAMAMOORTHY,J kj C.S.(Comm.Div.) No.178 of 2024 14.07.2025 7/7 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis