India, Feb. 13 -- Observing that contamination of government websites with malicious programming codes that redirect users to betting sites was a serious issue, the Bombay high court on Wednesday directed the state to ensure that preventive measures are put in place at the earliest to avoid cyber-attack on government websites.

The court also asked the Maharashtra cyber police to consider suggestions made by petitioner Ruzbeh Dossabhoy Raja, whose public interest litigation (PIL) highlighted the issue.

Raja, an information technology consultant and visiting law professor at the University of Mumbai, had filed the PIL on February 5, after discovering malware on the government websites.

While operating the Mumbai police website on January...