Terms of Service

The Guardian Chronicle | Digital News Platform

Last Updated: May 2026 | Effective Date: June 1, 2026

1. Introduction and Acceptance of Terms

Welcome to The Guardian Chronicle. These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of our website (www.theguardianchronicle.com), mobile applications, digital subscription services, E-Paper platform, and all related content and features (collectively, the “Services”).

By accessing, browsing, or using our Services, you signify your unconditional agreement to be bound by these Terms, our Privacy Policy, our Cookie Policy, and any other policies incorporated herein by reference. These Terms constitute a legally binding electronic contract under Section 10A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. If you do not agree, please immediately discontinue use of our Services.

2. Eligibility and Account Registration

2.1 Age Requirement

You must be at least 18 years old to independently create an account, purchase a subscription, or post comments on our platform. If you are under 18, you may only access our Services with the active involvement and verifiable parental or lawful guardian consent, in strict accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 and the DPDP Rules, 2025.

2.2 Account Security

To access premium features — including commenting, subscription management, and E-Paper access — you must register a verified account. You are solely responsible for:

Maintaining the confidentiality of your password and login credentials;

All activity occurring under your account;

Immediately notifying us at accounts@guardianchronicle.in of any unauthorized access or suspected security breach.

We reserve the right to terminate accounts that we reasonably suspect have been compromised or are being used fraudulently.

2.3 Account Sharing Prohibition

Your subscription is strictly for individual, personal use. Sharing your login credentials with non-subscribers is a material violation of this Agreement and may result in the immediate suspension or termination of your account without refund.

3. Intellectual Property and Content Use

All journalism, layouts, images, videos, audio, graphics, source code, and software published on The Guardian Chronicle — collectively “Our Content” — are the exclusive intellectual property of The Guardian Chronicle or its licensed content providers, protected under the Copyright Act, 1957, the Information Technology Act, 2000, and international treaties including the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

3.1 Permitted Use

Read, view, and access Our Content for personal, non-commercial purposes.

Share links to articles via social media using our provided sharing tools.

Fair Dealing (Section 52, Copyright Act, 1957) for criticism, review, or academic reporting, with a direct hyperlink to the original.

Download a single copy of the daily E-Paper if you hold a valid paid subscription, for personal offline reading.

3.2 Prohibited Use

You may NOT, without our prior written consent:

Reproduce, republish, distribute, broadcast, or sell any part of Our Content in any medium.

Scrape, data-mine, or use automated tools to extract Our Content (violates Section 43, IT Act, 2000).

Bypass any paywall, DRM, or access-control mechanism.

Create derivative works, AI training datasets, or commercial summaries from Our Content.

Share or forward downloaded E-Paper PDFs on public or private messaging platforms.

4. Acceptable Use Policy and Community Guidelines

As an intermediary under Part II of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, we require all users to adhere to the following standards when using our commenting, letters, and citizen reporting features:

You must NOT post, upload, share, or transmit content that:

Is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, pedophilic, or invasive of another’s privacy;

Is harassing, insulting, or discriminatory on the basis of gender, caste, religion, or ethnicity;

Promotes enmity between different groups or threatens India’s sovereignty, integrity, or security;

Infringes any patent, trademark, copyright, or other proprietary rights;

Contains malware, viruses, or harmful code;

Constitutes spam, misinformation, or deliberate deception regarding the origin of a message;

Is harmful to children or facilitates child sexual abuse material (CSAM);

Sections 67, 67A, 67B, 68, or 79 of the IT Act, 2000.

4.1 Content Moderation

We reserve the right (but assume no obligation) to pre-screen, review, flag, filter, modify, refuse, or remove any user-generated content that violates these Terms, without prior notice. Removed content may be reported to appropriate authorities where legally required.

4.2 Intermediary Safe Harbor (Section 79, IT Act, 2000)

The Guardian Chronicle claims the benefit of the safe harbor provisions under Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000, as an intermediary that does not initiate, select, modify, or have specific actual knowledge of unlawful content in the normal course of its operations. This protection is contingent upon our compliance with the IT Rules, 2021.

5. Subscriptions, Payments, and Auto-Renewal

Our paid subscription plans are detailed in our Subscription Agreement. Key terms:

inclusive of applicable GST unless otherwise stated.

RBI Guidelines on E-Mandates for Recurring Transactions.

pre-debit notification at least 24 hours before renewal via email or SMS.

Price changes will be communicated with at least 30 days’ advance notice.

Cancellations and refunds are governed by our Refund and Cancellation Policy.

You may cancel anytime through your Account Settings without penalty.

6. Privacy and Data Protection

Your privacy is paramount. Our collection, processing, storage, and sharing of your personal data are governed by our Privacy Policy, drafted in strict compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023. By using our Services, you acknowledge and agree to the terms of our Privacy Policy.

7. IT Rules 2021 Compliance — Part II and Part III

7.1 Part II — Intermediary Guidelines

As a Significant Social Media Intermediary (if applicable) or standard intermediary, The Guardian Chronicle shall:

Publish these Terms, Privacy Policy, and Community Guidelines prominently on its platform;

Appoint a Grievance Officer, a Nodal Contact Person, and a Chief Compliance Officer, all of whom are residents of India;

Acknowledge grievances within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days of receipt;

Remove content flagged as violating Section 69A IT Act orders within prescribed timelines.

7.2 Part III — Code of Ethics for Digital Media

Our journalistic and editorial operations comply with the Code of Ethics for digital news publishers as specified in Part III of the IT Rules, 2021, including:

Adherence to the Press Council of India’s Norms of Journalistic Conduct;

Publication of corrections and right-to-reply mechanisms;

A three-tier grievance redressal system (Publisher Level I → Self-regulatory body Level II → Government Level III).

8. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

The Guardian Chronicle provides its Services on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We do not warrant that the website will be uninterrupted, error-free, or completely secure.

To the fullest extent permitted by Indian law, The Guardian Chronicle, its directors, employees, and affiliates shall NOT be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages — including loss of profits, data, or goodwill — arising from your use of the Services. Our total aggregate liability shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the preceding twelve (12) months.

9. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless The Guardian Chronicle, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your violation of these Terms or your infringement of any third-party rights, including intellectual property or privacy rights.

10. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. All disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts located in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India.

11. Grievance Redressal Officer

In compliance with Rule 3(2)(b) of the IT Rules, 2021, and the DPDP Act, 2023, we have appointed a Grievance Officer. All grievances must be submitted in writing:

Name: [To Be Appointed — Name of Designated Officer]

Designation: Grievance Officer & Nodal Officer

Email: grievances@guardianchronicle.in

Phone: [To Be Inserted] (Available Mon–Fri, 10 AM – 6 PM IST)

Postal Address: The Guardian Chronicle, 3rd Floor, Satya Chambers, Opp. Raddison Blu, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India – 834001

Acknowledgment: Within 24 hours of receipt

Resolution: Within 15 days of acknowledgment

If dissatisfied with our resolution, you may escalate to the Data Protection Board of India (DPB) for data-related matters, or to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for content-related matters.

12. Modifications to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated via email or a prominent notice on our website at least 30 days before the change takes effect. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of any modification constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

13. Severability and Entire Agreement

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Subscription Agreement, and Refund Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and The Guardian Chronicle.