Section 55

Section 55 is a civil court exclusion provision — it ousts civil court jurisdiction over matters that the Adjudicating Officer or Appellate Tribunal under the IT Act are empowered to determine. The provision has two limbs. First, no civil court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any suit or proceeding in respect of matters within the Adjudicating Officer's or Appellate Tribunal's jurisdiction. This means that disputes over IT Act civil contraventions (penalty and compensation matters under Sections 43-47) must be brought before the Adjudicating Officer, not before a civil court, and appeals must go to the Appellate Tribunal, not to civil courts. Second, no court or other authority may grant an injunction in respect of any action taken or to be taken in pursuance of any power conferred under the IT Act. This second limb is particularly far-reaching: it prevents civil courts from staying IT Act regulatory actions by injunction. An order of the Controller, the Adjudicating Officer, or an action under Section 69 (interception orders) or Section 69A (blocking orders) cannot be injuncted by a civil court. Aggrieved parties must pursue statutory remedies (appeal to the Appellate Tribunal under Section 57, then to the High Court under Section 62) rather than seeking civil court injunctions. The non-obstante clause in Section 55 is subject to the constitutional supervisory jurisdiction of the High Courts and Supreme Court under Articles 226 and 32 of the Constitution — Section 55 cannot oust constitutional jurisdiction.