INDRP Domain Disputes in India: Process, Timelines and a Searchable Award Index

How-to · Domain Disputes

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

You find that someone has registered a .in or .bharat domain that copies your brand, or you have received a complaint against your own domain. You need to know three things fast: what the arbitrator will test, how long it takes, and how to find earlier awards that look like your case. This guide explains the INDRP process in plain steps and shows a simple way to track disputes and build a searchable index of awards. Last verified October 2026.

01Why INDRP disputes are hard to track

INDRP stands for the .IN Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. It is run by the .IN Registry (NIXI) and covers disputes over .in and .bharat domain names. It is a form of arbitration, not a court case, so it does not show up in a normal court case status search.

Awards sit on the registry site, not in a court database

The .IN Registry says decisions under the policy may be published on registry.in. That is the primary source. But it is a list of awards, not a research tool. You cannot easily ask it for every award where the respondent used a privacy proxy, or every award that ended in a transfer.

Short clocks, little room for error

The process moves quickly. The arbitrator has 60 days to pass an award, so a missed reply date can cost you the domain.

The registry and the court are two different places

An INDRP award is not the end for everyone. A party can go to a High Court, for a trade mark suit or to challenge the award. So a full picture needs both the registry record and the court record.

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change, so always confirm on registry.in before you file.

02The three tests an INDRP arbitrator applies

Paragraph 4 of the INDRP lists the grounds. A complainant must show all three:

1. Identical or confusingly similar: the registrant’s domain is identical or confusingly similar to a name, trade mark or service mark in which the complainant has rights.
2. No rights or legitimate interests: the registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name.
3. Bad faith: the domain has been registered or is being used in bad faith, or for an illegal or unlawful purpose.

The policy gives examples of bad faith. These include registering mainly to sell the domain at a profit above documented costs, registering to block a mark owner from using a matching domain as a pattern of conduct, creating confusion to divert users, and registering mainly to disrupt a competitor.

Three tests decide an INDRP case: confusing similarity, no legitimate interest, and bad faith. Build your evidence around each one.

03Step by step: process and timeline

The steps below follow the INDRP Rules of Procedure on registry.in. Rule numbers are from the version we read in October 2026.

1. File the complaint. The complainant files with the .IN Registry, with evidence for the three tests.
2. Registry checks compliance and appoints an arbitrator. The Registry appoints an arbitrator from its list, within 5 working days of compliance verification (Rules 3a and 5b).
3. Notice goes to the respondent. The arbitrator issues notice within 3 working days of receiving the complaint (Rule 5c).
4. Reply and any hearing. The proceedings are in English. Non-English documents need a certified English translation (Rule 14a). The seat of arbitration is the NIXI office at Delhi unless notified otherwise (Rule 23).
5. Award within 60 days. The arbitrator must pass the award within 60 days from the start of the arbitration, and this can be extended by up to 30 days in exceptional cases (Rule 5e).
6. Implementation. If the award orders transfer or cancellation, the Registry acts on it.

The rules refer to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 as amended in 2019. That matters later if someone wants to challenge the award.

04Fees and remedies

Under Rule 22g, the fee we read was an administration fee of Rs 10,000 plus an arbitrator’s fee of Rs 20,000, plus 18% GST. A personal hearing adds Rs 2,000 per hearing, up to two hearings. Fees can change, so check the current rules page.

The arbitrator can order cancellation of the domain or transfer of it to the complainant. Costs can also be awarded at the arbitrator’s discretion (paragraph 11 of the policy). The policy does not award damages, so a party who wants damages usually looks at a court action as well.

05Build a searchable award index

The registry gives you the awards. What it does not give you is a way to compare them. A simple index fixes this. You can keep it in a spreadsheet. For each award, record these fields:

Update it each month from the decisions list on registry.in. The last column is the one most people skip, and it is the one that tells you whether an award held up.

06Registry side and court side

INDRP is one forum. The same brand fight often has other parts: a trade mark opposition at IP India, a passing off suit in a High Court IP Division, or a challenge to the award. For IP side tracking, see our guide to IP litigation tracking software in India. If you are a bank or NBFC that needs to pull litigation records into your own systems, see litigation search API for NBFCs and banks. For a registry deadline that works in a similar way on the patent side, see Form 3 after the 2024 patent rules.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

An INDRP award is not always the end, because a party can take the fight to a High Court. Claw tracks cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, holds 30 crore+ judgments, covers Supreme Court records from 1950 and High Court records from 1990, and returns results in under 5 seconds. Claw does not use customer documents to train AI models.

Create a FREE Claw account to track the court side of a domain dispute, including any High Court challenge to an award, and to run case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

Primary sources used for this page (last verified October 2026):

• .IN Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy: registry.in/domaindisputeresolution
• INDRP Rules of Procedure: registry.in/indrprulesprocedure
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This page is general information, not legal advice. Confirm every rule, fee and deadline on the registry before you act.

09Frequently asked questions