News
Rouse Avenue Court Discharges Sify Technologies in SSC CGL Question Paper Leak Case
10 Nov 2026
- DMD Advocates
- Matter Reporting
In an order dated November 6, 2026, the Special Judge, Rouse Avenue Courts, New Delhi, discharged Sify Technologies Limited in relation to question paper leaks and during the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Tier-II Examination, 2017/18. The SSC had engaged Sify to conduct the computer-based examination, which was held between February 17 and 22, 2018, across 206 examination centres. The charges were brought under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act), the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, 2000.
While the Court held that Sify and its employee fell within the definition of “public servant” under the PC Act owing to the public duty they performed, it found that the prosecution had failed to establish any direct link between Sify and the leakage of question papers or the use of unfair means by candidates. The Court observed that the circumstances relied upon by the CBI were isolated and fragmented and did not establish the requisite chain of events to sustain criminal liability.
The Court reaffirmed the principles governing corporate criminal liability, relying on the “directing mind and will” doctrine laid down in Tesco Supermarkets Ltd. v. Nattrass and its Indian counterparts, including Iridium India Telecom Ltd. v. Motorola and Sunil Bharti Mittal v. CBI. It held that a company cannot be held criminally liable for the acts of an employee unless the employee constitutes the company’s alter ego or controls its affairs. As no wrongdoing was attributed to Sify’s senior management, the charges against the company could not be sustained.
Sify Technologies Limited was represented by DMD Advocates led by Pawan Sharma (Partner), along with Saurabh Singh Ahluwalia (Counsel) and Nishant Varun (Principal Associate).
