Section 37 — Power of Central Government to issue directions

What this section requires

On a written reference from the Board — reporting that it has imposed a monetary penalty on a Data Fiduciary in two or more instances, and advising that blocking public access to that fiduciary's relevant information resource is in the public interest — the Central Government (or an officer it authorises), after hearing the Data Fiduciary and recording reasons, can direct any government agency or intermediary to block public access to information on a computer resource the fiduciary uses to offer goods or services to Data Principals in India.

Every intermediary receiving such a direction must comply. "Computer resource," "information" and "intermediary" carry the meanings given in the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Who it applies to

A Data Fiduciary the Board has penalised twice or more, whose case the Board has specifically referred to the Central Government under this section — this is a last-resort escalation, not an ordinary enforcement tool. It also binds any intermediary that receives a resulting blocking direction.

Checklist

• Treat repeat penalties from the Board as carrying escalation risk beyond the monetary figure itself — a second-or-more instance is what can trigger a Section 37 reference in the first place.
• If facing a proposed Section 37 direction, use the mandatory hearing opportunity — the Central Government cannot issue the direction without first hearing the Data Fiduciary.
• If you are an intermediary and receive a blocking direction under sub-section (1), sub-section (2) makes compliance mandatory.

Penalty exposure

No Schedule item names Section 37 directly, and its own consequence — blocking public access to an information resource — is not itself a monetary penalty. An intermediary's failure to comply with a blocking direction falls under the residual item 7 — up to ₹50 crore.

Implementation timeline

Not yet in force. Commences 13 May 2027, eighteen months after the DPDP Rules, 2025 were published (13 November 2025) — per the commencement notification G.S.R. 843(E).