The Information Technology Act, 2000
CHAPTER VII: ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE CERTIFICATES
Section 37: Suspension Of Digital Signature Certificate
Bare Act
(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the Certifying Authority which has issued a Digital Signature Certificate may suspend such Digital Signature Certificate, -
- on receipt of a request to that effect from -
- the subscriber listed in the Digital Signature Certificate; or
- any person duly authorised to act on behalf of that subscriber;
- if it is of opinion that the Digital Signature Certificate should be suspended in public interest.
(2) A Digital Signature Certificate shall not be suspended for a period exceeding fifteen days unless the subscriber has been given an opportunity of being heard in the matter.
(3) On suspension of a Digital Signature Certificate under this section, the Certifying Authority shall communicate the same to the subscriber.
Simplified Act
(1) The organization that gave out a Digital Signature Certificate can put it on hold if:
- The person who has the certificate asks for it to be suspended; or
- Someone who is allowed to make decisions for that person asks for it to be suspended; or
- The organization believes it needs to be s… Read the complete text with KanoonGPT Pro.
Explanation using examples
Let's consider a hypothetical scenario where Mr. Sharma is a subscriber of a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) issued by a Certifying Authority (CA). Mr. Sharma suspects that his DSC has been compromised and could be misused. He immediately contacts the CA and requests the suspension of his DSC. As per Section 37(1)(a)(i) of The Information Technology Act, 2000, the CA suspends Mr. Sharma's DSC promptly.
In another scenario, the CA receives credible information that a DSC issued to a company has been used in fraudulent activities. The CA, considering the public interest, decides to suspend the company's DSC under Section 37(1)(b).
However, in both cases, as per Section 37(2), the suspension cannot exceed fifteen days without giving Mr. Sharma and the company an opportunity to be heard. Once the DSC is suspended, the CA is required to inform the subscriber about the suspension as per Section 37(3).
