This article is written by Akansha Sharma
Introduction
India is the Nation with the world’s Second most largest population of people who use the
Internet. The Internet is so important nowadays in our lives that, from newspapers to The
Bedtime meditation, everything depends on the internet. The ease of the internet provided many
resources right into our hands , fitted into a package of 6 inch screen smartphones and newly
graded and updated laptops. The world is totally different from our regular world, the digital
world , and cyberspace. From evolving Artificial Intelligence technologies to highly graphic
games, it’s all a part of our daily lives now. In the legal world, we can appreciate the internet as
quick ebooks, Quick Bare acts , Hands -on judgements, Online internships and Virtual hearing
procedure as an ease for the People of Bar and Bench. In this article, such cyber space and its
various paradigms will be discussed.
Meaning
The Internet creates a world, not of people but of Links, Databases, Softwares and we call it
Cyber space. Cyber space is made with networks by using linkages of networks and with help of
various softwares and computer systems . Such Cyber spaces or Cyber zones are of two types ,
Public and Private. The public cyberspace includes internet available to public networks , for
example ; Website of Digital India, unlike Private Cyberspace which is only accessible by the
Main person or Persons of an organisation ; Website of Indian Army , NIC etc.
Traditional Crime used to be like Murder, Robbery , Kidnapping etc, were different from cyber
crime. As Technology is evolving, So is crime . Cyber Crime is evolving with time and it is an
urgent need of time to make such laws which will not just impact negatively upon crime and
criminals but will also create a trust shield for the users of the Internet.
Cyber Laws in India are those Laws which possess authority to govern all the activities and
regulations regarding Internet, Its usage and Punishments for the crimes which take place over
the Internet. Cyber law addresses topics like agreements, digital crimes, data protection, privacy
rights and legal principles of digital space. Cyber crimes are also crimes. The definition of
Crime is that when a Wrong act is committed against the society , it is called crime. Unlike Tort,
Crime shocks the society and affects the public in general, so its greviosuity is much more .
Thus, the laws for Crimes in Digital Space require Laws like Cyber law, Information and
Technology Act,2000 and Data Protection and Privacy Laws.
Law of Cyberspace
There are codified laws for cybercrime. Cyber law emerges from The Information and
Technology Act, 2000. In this law, the objective was to define and abstain from wrongdoings
over the internet, like Hacking, Phishing, Scams, Frauds, etc. Though Technology is always
developing and updating , IT Act, 2000 was made in such a time when technology was even
nascent . Nowadays as crime has developed with technology, many new kinds of crimes have
started to emerge into our lives. From getting repeated scam calls to fake loan messages, they all
are just ways to lure people into doing an act of clicking a link or sending a minimal amount and
in a minute, the attackers empty The bank accounts and steal the hard earned money of innocent
people. The Cyber crime of New ages like Cyber stalking, Cyber Economic frauds, Cyber
Identity misrepresentation, Frauds and specifically, requires new Criminal Laws which covers all
such topics.
In the Indian Penal Code (previous law) , Crimes which are seemingly identical mentioned in
various sections such as:
Section 354 (D) : Stalking
Section 506: Threatening,
Section 419/420 : Theft/Fraud etc.
Cyber crimes are different kinds of crimes which take place in different arenas of law . These
are the main classifications of cyber crimes.
- Harassment via emails: When someone sends emails with Threatening messages and Blackmailing that is a serious nature of Cyber Crime.
- Cyber Stalking: It is a crime where a person stalks someone in digital space by going over there profile to enact information of theirs to commit a crime , this happens due to obsession of criminals with their victims.
- Defamation : When the attacker Posts or speaks something bad and baseless about other person over the use of Internet Media as medium, that is Crime contained in Cyber Crime as well as Crime under Penal Code of India as S. 499/S.500
- Email spoofing : The crime which takes place by sending various phishing links which are harmful and installs a virus which gives them access to the attacker of the victim’s computer. This is a Punishable Crime under S.42 of IT Act, 2000, and S. 66 of IT Act,2000
Cyber Crimes are amongst the most underreported forms of criminality. Experts say, less than
10% of Cyber crimes are reported to authorities. Some companies after getting attacked by cyber
attackers have given ransoms to them and this makes not just the company vulnerable but also it
gives a positive message to attackers that Cyber attacks can give them money. To prevent Cyber
attacks and to control cyber crimes, India has made various provisions and made strict laws as
mentioned in IT Act, 2000 (Information Technology Act ,2000 and it was enforced on 17th may
2000) ) which is a codified act through which punishments can be given to attackers .
Some of the main provisions of the attack are ;
Chapter XI of the IT Act,2000 deals with the offences. The important sections in IT Act which
deals with various cyber crimes are Sections 43, 65, 66, 67.
Section 66 : Hacking : Hacking a computer is a cognizable act which is Non bailable in nature
and triable by first class magistrates. This section is to protect the information residing in a
computer resource ant to protect the integrity and security of computer resources from attacks by
unauthorized persons seeking to enter such resources.
The punishment of offense under this section is imprisonment up to 3 years or with fine upto 2
lakhs or both. The presence of a criminal intention will differentiate S.66 from S.43 of IT act,
2000.
Section 43: Penalty for damages to the computer , computer system etc. This section deals with
unauthorized access , unauthorized downloading ,virus attacks or any contaminants introduced in
the system – Trojan Attacks, Denial of services access , damages caused. This section provided
for a fine upto rs 1 crore as remedy.
Though, Cyber Criminals are hard to be found and caught in the act, they can be tracked and
caught now with new Law’s and New Upgraded investigative technologies and forensic sciences.
From the Forensic Financial Fraud wing, to Newly settling Forensic labs in the country, the hope
to curb Cyber crime in future is there.
The Current Scenario
Under the recently changed Indian laws, The inclusion and Updation of New Techniques to
gather the evidence is a noteworthy part of discussion. The changes regarding the collection of
evidence, the crimes and classifications has been done in New Criminal laws , Under the
Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita , 2023 (Like IPC) and Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 ( Like
Cr.Pc) . Some of the prominent changes are ;
- Under the BNSS, 2023 , Now The evidence collected from digital resources which will
be called as Electronic record can be used as PRIMARY EVIDENCE. With the help of
Electronic evidence being primary evidence, the cases might get a more clear picture
about the particular scenario or crime in question. - Under the S. 111 of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Inclusion of Cyber Crimes under
crimes of “Organized Crimes”, is a big step, due to the fact that behind such crimes of
Fraud, Extortion, and Illegal Internet Activities and cyber threats has been committed by
Groups and Gang who runs such syndicate and they can be punished through the Court of
Law. - Along with that, BNS, 2023 has introduced New Age Cyber Crimes and their
punishments such as under
a) Cheating : S.318 ,BNS, 2023 : In this section The inclusion of offence of fraud
via the internet to commit fraud or cheating is Mentioned. This includes Password
Theft, Making fake websites and Cyber frauds.
b) Defamation: S. 356 , BNS 2023 : This Section deals with defamation , under
Indian law the defamation of libel and slander is under Criminal Acts. defamation
by using words, gestures , by speaking or writing against someone to defame
them . This used to be under S.499/500 of IPC . Now the changes under BNS also include the act of posting or spreading of misinformation and defaming practices online, like cyberbullying, as an Criminal Defamatory offence. The punishment of defamation is Simple Imprisonment with Term of 2 years, with fine or with both.
With progress towards Digitalization of India and protecting the most important asset of people,
The Data, The government has introduced The Data Protection and Data Privacy Act, 2023. This
act hold the power of privacy under the hands of the user. Though, critical Analysis speaks of
unnecessary government handling of Data, yet the progress towards making digital literal laws in
India can be seen through making of this act. The bill stated that
-The data of the user can not be taken without the consent of the Data Holder.
-The data can not be kept without the user’s consent, even with the consent, only a particular
amount of time there , where the data can be stored.
-In concern with Corporates and Third party data, The Agreement to Data Privacy is to be made
And that should be mentioning the clause of Data Deletion, This clause will not just hold the
accountability of Data , but also ensures the safe eraser of Data from any third party sources.
Recent Judgements for different Cyber crimes
The Cyber Laws in India are yet to be improved but there are sources of Law which we abide by,
and one of the most Important Source of Law is Precedent or Judgements. The affect of
precedents are not just upon the case but upon the mass of society.
- Shamsher Singh Verma v. State of Haryana : In this case the applicant approached The
Supreme court after the High court had rejected his petition for exhibiting a Compact
Disc File submitted by him as an evidence in his defence. The Supreme Court allowed
the evidence to be taken along with that also mentioned that 294(1) CrPC does not make
it essential to Obtain admission or denial personally from Accused, Victim or Witnesses. - State of Tamil Nadu v. Suhas Katti : In this landmark case of Cyber Law arena , the
efficient handling made it clear that conviction can take place within 7 months of FIR in a
Cyber Crime matter. In this case, Accused used Facebook as a weapon to post
Defamatory content against his former family friend because she refused to marry him.
The accused was convicted with rigorous punishment for committing Cyber crime under
S.67 of Information and Technology Act, 2000, for 1 year along with conviction and
fined in other charges such as 469 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code.
3.Shreya Singhal v. Union of India : This landmark case made Section 66A of the IT
ACT, 2000 declared to be Unconstitutional by the Honorable Supreme Court. In this case two
girls were arrested u/s 66A , IT ACT, 2000, for posting their views about a particular Political
event which took place in Maharashtra. The Supreme court based its decision and upheld that no
matter how unpopular the opinion or viewpoint is, merely posting is under Freedom of
Expression as Fundamental Right under the Constitution of India. Section 66A analysed as
section which barred all of the communication and contained no distinction between advocacy
and discussion. It was violative of the Constitution hence held Unconstitutional.
Suggestion of Change
The changes which can be made to such laws is to give less authority over private lives of people
as that might hurt the Fundamental Right of Privacy, which has been provided by the
Constitution of India to The People of India. The recent judgements shows that there is a rise in
different kind of Cyber crimes which needs to be curbed and there are certain suggestions
regarding the same ;
- By educating: By educating people through different mean and modes, digital and non
digital platforms, about the Cyberspace privacy and limits, along with Introduction to
New Cyber crimes for prevention and control. - By making mandatory Provisions: by making more stricker laws against Cyber crimes.
People might take it as a benefit that It’s a simple Act, but the authorities needs to make
sure to first understand the greviosuity of offences of Cyber crime and, to make stricter
provisions for the same
References
- Constitution of India
- Information and Technology Act, 2000
- Data protection and privacy act, 2025
- Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
- Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita , 2023
- Indian Penal Code ,
- Criminal Procedure Code
