BACK TO IT ACT
IT Act 2000
Section 26
Notice of Suspension or Revocation of Licence to be Published in Database
THE STATUTE
Original Text
Where the licence of the Certifying Authority is suspended or revoked, the Controller shall publish notice of such suspension or revocation, as the case may be, in the database maintained under clause (n) of section 18.
Simplified
Section 26 is the publication complement to Section 25's suspension and revocation powers — just as Section 39 requires CAs to publish notice of certificate suspension/revocation in their repositories, Section 26 requires the Controller to publish notice of a CA licence suspension or revocation in the official database maintained under Section 18(n). The Section 18(n) database is a public record of every Certifying Authority's disclosure and compliance status, accessible to all. When a CA's licence is suspended or revoked under Section 25, that status must appear in this public database so that: relying parties checking whether a CA is currently licensed can discover the suspension or revocation; systems that rely on the Controller's database to validate CA status can update their trust stores; and the general public and regulated entities know that the CA is no longer authorised to issue new Electronic Signature Certificates. The practical effect mirrors Section 39's role in certificate-level notifications: publication in the database is the legal event that fixes constructive notice on the world. A party who relies on a suspended CA's newly issued certificates after the Section 26 publication does so without the protection of good faith reliance on valid CA status. Section 26 is brief but functionally critical — without it, licence enforcement under Section 25 would be an internal regulatory action invisible to the market.
Common Queries
IT Act Section 26 requires the Controller to publish any suspension or revocation of a CA licence in the publicly accessible CCA database. This transparency obligation ensures that businesses and individuals who verify digital signatures can check whether the issuing CA is still authorised. Section 26 is critical for maintaining trust in India's Public Key Infrastructure ecosystem.
IT Act Section 26 requires the Controller to publish any suspension or revocation of a CA licence in the publicly accessible CCA database. This transparency obligation ensures that businesses and individuals who verify digital signatures can check whether the issuing CA is still authorised. Section 26 is critical for maintaining trust in India's Public Key Infrastructure ecosystem.
IT Act Section 26 was retained without substantial change by the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008. The provision continues to be in force and must be read alongside the DPDP Act, 2023 and relevant rules notified under the IT Act. Courts continue to apply this section in disputes involving electronic records and digital transactions.
Legal Evolution
Section 26 was in the original IT Act 2000. The provision reflects the transparency principle at the heart of PKI trust architecture: regulatory actions against CAs must be publicly visible for the trust ecosystem to self-correct.
Key Amendments
Unchanged since the original IT Act 2000.