CYBER LAW IN INDIA
Brief of Cyber Law in India
‘Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.’ – Uncle Ben: Spiderman (2002)
As we all can see, the internet is not what it was in the old times. It has transformed and become inalienable part of our life. It empowers us in many ways i.e. connectivity, informational access, transactional access, etc. But as Uncle Ben rightly said in Spiderman (2002) movie, with great power comes great responsibility; likewise, is in the case of internet.
We often read about cyberattacks a lot, in which unprecedented losses if compared to old times, are reported every now and then. Such attacks range from financial theft, account hacks, password breach, website hacks, data breach, etc. Cybersecurity is no more an alien topic and is a contemporary issue which is increasing day by day. For example, in 2001, the Government of India’s Ministry of External Affairs website was hacked. Similar set of violations are reported many a times.
It is imperative to understand what crime is and what is crime in India. As per Blackstone, ‘a crime, or misdemeanor, is an act committed, or omitted, in violation of a public law, either forbidding or commanding it.’. The term used in the Indian Penal Code for crime is ‘offence’. Section 40 of the Indian Penal Code provides that the word offence denotes a thing made punishable by the Indian Penal Code. The word offence as per Indian Penal Code, also includes an act which is punishable under the special or local laws with imprisonment or fine.
Cyber crime as such is not defined in the Information Technology Act, 2000 or the Information Technology (Amendment) 2008 Act. Therefore in order to elucidate it briefly, in common parlance, it signifies a crime which is committed with usage of an electronic device or a computer.
Information Technology Act, 2000
The prime law pertaining to cyber law in India is Information Technology Act, 2000. This law was enacted with an aim ‘to provide legal recognition for transactions carried out by means of electronic data interchange and other means of electronic communication, commonly referred to as ―electronic commerce, which involve the use of alternatives to paper-based methods of communication and storage of information, to facilitate electronic filing of documents with the Government agencies’.
It also aimed to further amend the Indian Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Banker’s Books Evidence Act, 1891 and the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
It was framed in the backdrop of the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution A/RES/51/162, dated the 30th January, 1997 whereby the Model Law on Electronic Commerce were adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. The said resolution recommended all the member States to give favourable consideration to the said Model Law when they enact or revise their laws, in view of the need for uniformity of the law applicable to alternatives to paper-based methods of communication and storage of information.
The Information Technology Act, 2000 defines cyber security as ‘protecting information, equipment, devices, computer, computer resource, communication device and information stored therein from unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification or destruction.’ The most intriguing fact of this law is that it applies to any offence committed from outside of India, including applicability throughout India.
One milestone of the Information Technology Act, 2000 which is significant is authorization and recognition of digital signature in terms of legality. The Offences under the Information Technology Act, 2000 are tampering of computer source documents, hacking through a computer, publishing obscene information/data electronically, misrepresentation, penalty for breach of confidentiality, publishing false digital signature or associated tampering, etc.
The safeguarding provisions against tampering is in consonance with the Copyright Act 1957 which is punishable with imprisonment upto 3 years and or imposition of fine upto two lakh rupees.
Indian Penal Code from Cyber Law Perspective
A few provisions of cyber laws under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) are Section 420 (Cheating), Section 464 (false documentation – including false e signature), Section 468 (Falsified Electronic Record – Forgery for purpose of cheating), Section 469 (Forgery for purpose of harming reputation), Section 471(Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), etc.
Other Ancillary Cyber Laws
Serious Frauds Investigation Office is empowered under the Companies Act 2013 to prosecute Indian Companies and their Directors for cyber law violations. The promulgation of the Companies Inspection, Investment, and Inquiry Rules, 2014 and the Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014 has further strengthened the compliance in terms of cyber security.
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