CYBER CRIMES AND IT OFFENCES

Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab

(Established under the Punjab Act 12 of 2006)

A Project Submitted on:

“Need For Criminal Liability for Specific Cyber Crimes in India”

Supervised By: Submitted by:

DR. IVNEET KAUR WALIA Mudit Nagpal

Associate Professor of Law, 16167

RGNUL, Punjab 4th Year, B.A.LL.B.

Group No. 11
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The gratification and elation on the completion of this project will be incomplete without
mentioning all the people who helped to make it possible, whose guidance and
encouragement was valuable to me.

I articulate my thanks to our worthy Vice Chancellor Professor (Dr.) Paramjeet Singh
Jaswal who helped me to inculcate the zeal for this project.

I express my sincere and heartiest thanks to Dr. Ivneet Walia who has been a constant
source of inspiration to me in completing the project to its rightful path. I am immensely
indebted to her for inspiring guidance and kind suggestion in carrying out the project.

I also thank God, though I am not worthy of thanking him, but its inexplicable greatness
on his part to educate me, being with me and taking care of me. Without his guidance I
wouldn’t have been physically and mentally fit to complete this study.

I specially thank my parents who gave me a chance to study in this esteemed university, a
paradise for legal edification and all who supported me directly or indirectly, for
successful completion of the project work.

Last, but not the least; I thank my institution, Rajiv Gandhi National University of
Law, Punjab, for giving me the opportunity for developing the project.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement .............................................................................................................. 2

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4

I. What does crime mean? ........................................................................................ 4

II. What Is Cyber Crime? .......................................................................................... 5

III. Emergence of Information Technology Act, 2000 ........................................... 5

NEED FOR CYBER LAWS .............................................................................................. 8

I. IT legislation in India............................................................................................. 8

II. Objectives of I.T. legislation in India................................................................ 9

III. Amendment Act 2008 ....................................................................................... 10

HOW EFFICIENT IS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT, 2000? ......................... 12

Cyber offences in Laws other than IT Act ........................................................................ 13

I. CONSTITUTIONAL LIABILITY ..................................................................... 13

II. CRIMINAL LIABILITY................................................................................. 14

III. TORTIOUS LIABILITY................................................................................. 15

Laws governing identity thefts in India ............................................................................ 18

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS ........................................................................... 20

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 22

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 INTRODUCTION

The present era is marked by two things: heavy reliance on technology and virtual
space. But behind the interfusion of these two there exists a world of potent threat and
risks. These threats and risks are very much latent in nature and mostly the one
committing it or the one upon whom it is committed are extremely difficult to be
identified.1 For instance in crimes like cyber phishing, where a user shares his
credentials to a disguised trustworthy site but subsequently becomes a victim of fraud.
The pace with which such crimes are evolving is very striving yet a country like India
lacks far behind when it comes to laws and rules regulating cyber world. Much to our
surprise there is no definition of cyber crimes in India.

Although we have come up with IT Act, 20002 and the subsequent amendment to it in
2008 yet we are not able to cover the complete ambit of cyber crimes. Like a very
crucial issue of right to privacy. It has almost no relevance when the cyber crimes in
India are investigated. This only shows the imbalance between age old procedure
adopted in India and the advancement which Indian society has made. However liability
can also be found under criminal and tort law which has maintained their coordination
with the procedural part.

I. What does crime mean?

Crime, in modern times this term doesn’t have any universally accepted definition, but
one can define crime, also called an offense as an act harmful not only to some
individual, but also to the community or the state also known as a public wrong. Such
acts are forbidden and punishable by law. What is a criminal offense is defined by
criminal law of each country? While many countries have a crime catalog known as the

1
Computer Law: Drafting and Negotiating Forms and Agreements, by Richard Raysman and Peter Brown.
Law Journal Press, 1999–2008. ISBN 978-1-58852-024-1
2
The Information Technology Act, 2000.

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criminal code however in some common law countries no such comprehensive statute
exists.

The state has the power to severely restrict one’s liberty for committing a crime. Modern
societies, therefore, adopt and adhere a criminal procedure during the investigation and
trial of the offense and only if found guilty, the offender may be sentenced to various
punishments, such as life imprisonment or in some jurisdictions like in India even death.

To be classified as a crime, the act of doing something bad also called as actus reus must
be usually accompanied by the intention to do something bad i.e. mens rea, with certain
exceptions like strict liability.

II. What Is Cyber Crime?

Cybercrime is any criminal activity in which a computer or network is the source, target
or tool or place of crime. According to The Cambridge English Dictionary, cyber crimes
are the crimes committed with the use of computers or relating to computers, especially
through the internet.3 Crimes which involve use of information or usage of electronic
means in furtherance of crime are covered under the ambit of cybercrime. Cyberspace
crimes may be committed against persons, property, government and society at large.4

III. Emergence of Information Technology Act, 2000

Crime is both a social as well as an economic phenomenon. Its history is as old as human
society. Many books right from the pre-historic days, and mythological stories have
spoken about crimes committed by individuals be it against another individual like
ordinary theft and burglary or against the nation like spying, treason etc. Kautilya’s
Arthashastra which is written around 350 BC, considered to be an authentic
administrative treatise in India, discusses the various crimes, security initiatives to be
taken by the rulers, possible crimes in a state etc. and also advocates punishment for the
list of some stipulated offenses. Different kinds of punishments have been prescribed for

3
Zittrain, Jonathan (2003). "Be Careful What You Ask For: Reconciling a Global Internet and Local Law".
4
"Federal Agency Digital and Electronic Signature Regulations". Isaacbowman.com. 2009-03-16.

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listed offenses and the concept of restoration of loss to the victims has also been
discussed in it.

Crime in any form adversely affects all the members of society. In developing
economies, cybercrime has increased at rapid strides, due to the rapid diffusion of the
Internet and the digitization of economic activities. Thanks to the huge penetration of
technology in almost all walks of society right from corporate governance and state
administration, up to the lowest level of petty shop keepers computerizing their billing
system, we find computers and other electronic devices pervading the human life. The
penetration is so deep that man cannot spend a day without computers or a mobile.
Snatching some one’s mobile will tantamount to dumping one in solitary confinement.

The Internet is the fastest technique on earth that one can find these days and for
everything, it is the best solution that people consider looking into. It has all the benefits
and advantages like communication, advertisement, online movie and songs downloads,
emailing, instant messaging and searching out the concerns and issues there are plenty of
things that internet has got wrong as well. There are different kinds of internet scams and
frauds that are happening and one needs to be very careful. This is something that has
been bothering individuals and organizations ever since the internet was introduced and
many a time, simple things could make you a victim even when you are unaware of it.

It is rightly said that technological development in every area is likely to cause drastic
effects in every walk of life. The scientific and technological advancement, especially in
the field of communication and information have created havoc thus, opening new vistas
for the human beings including the criminals. Today’s crime reports reveal that many
cyber crimes are committed by assistance of internet and cell phones. On the other hand,
legislatures have been compelled to frame exclusive enactments to deal with crimes
committed with the help of concerned device.

If one is to believe newspaper reports, many scandals such as C.D. rackets were busted

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by the police.
It is other side of revolution in the field of information and technology. Under the
Information Technology Act, 2000, there is an apparatus defined as “computer” which
means:
“Any electronic magnetic, optical or other high speed data processing device or system
which performs logical arithmetical and memory functions by manipulations of electronic
magnetic or optical impulses and all input, output, processing storage, computer
software, or communication facilities which are connected and related to the computer in
a computer system or computer network”.5

5
Sec. 2, IT Act, 2000.

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 NEED FOR CYBER LAWS

Information technology has spread throughout the world. As the user of cyberspace
grows increasingly diverse and the range of online interaction expands, there is expansion
in the cyber crimes i.e. breach of online contracts, perpetration of online torts and crimes
etc. Due to the consequences, there was need to adopt a strict law by the cyberspace
authority to regulate criminal activities relating to cyber and to provide better
administration of justice to the victim of cybercrime. In the modern cyber technology
world it is very much necessary to regulate cyber crimes and most importantly cyber law
should be made stricter in the case of cyber terrorism and hackers.

Cyber law, it is a term that encapsulates the legal issues related to use of communicative,
transactional, and distributive aspects of networked information devices and
technologies. It is less a distinct field of law than property or contract law, as it is a
domain covering many areas of law and regulation. IT Law is a set of recent legal
enactments, currently in existence in several countries, which governs the process and
dissemination of information digitally. These legal enactments cover a broad gamut of
different aspects relating to computer software, protection of computer software, access
and control of digital information, privacy, security, internet access and usage, and
electronic commerce. These laws have been described as “paper laws” for “paperless
environment”.

I. IT legislation in India

Mid 90’s saw an impetus in globalization and computerization, with more and more
nations computerizing their governance, and e-commerce seeing an enormous growth.
Previously, most of international trade and transactions were done through documents
being transmitted through post and by telex only. Evidences and records, until then, were
predominantly paper evidences and paper records or other forms of hard-copies only.
With much of international trade being done through electronic communication and with

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email gaining momentum, an urgent and imminent need was felt for recognizing
electronic records i.e. the data what is stored in a computer or an external storage
attached thereto. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
(UNCITRAL)6 adopted the Model Law on e-commerce in 1996. The General Assembly
of United Nations passed a resolution in January 1997 inter alia, recommending all States
in the UN to give favorable considerations to the said Model Law, which provides for
recognition to electronic records and according it the same treatment like a paper
communication and record.

II. Objectives of I.T. legislation in India

It is against this background the Government of India enacted its Information Technology
Act 2000 with the objectives as follows, stated in the preface to the Act itself. “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 and further to amend the Indian Penal Code, the Indian
Evidence Act, 1872, the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891 and the Reserve Bank of
India Act, 1934 and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”

The Information Technology Act, 2000, was thus passed as the Act No.21 of 2000, got
President’s assent on 9 June and was made effective from 17 October 2000.

The Act essentially deals with the following issues:

 Legal Recognition of Electronic Documents

 Legal Recognition of Digital Signatures
 Offenses and Contraventions

6
The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law.

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Cyber crimes and IT offences
  Justice Dispensation Systems for cyber crimes.7

III. Amendment Act 2008

Being the first legislation in the nation on technology, computers and ecommerce and e-
communication, the Act was the subject of extensive debates, elaborate reviews and
detailed criticisms, with one arm of the industry criticizing some sections of the Act to be
draconian and other stating it is too diluted and lenient. There were some conspicuous
omissions too resulting in the investigators relying more and more on the time-tested (one
and half century-old) Indian Penal Code even in technology based cases with the I.T. Act
also being referred in the process and the reliance more on IPC rather on the ITA. 8

Thus the need for an amendment – a detailed one – was felt for the I.T. Act almost from
the year 2003-04 themselves. Major industry bodies were consulted and advisory groups
were formed to go into the perceived lacunae in the I.T. Act and comparing it with
similar legislations in other nations and to suggest recommendations. Such
recommendations were analyzed and subsequently taken up as a comprehensive
Amendment Act and after considerable administrative procedures; the consolidated
amendment called the Information Technology Amendment Act 2008 was placed in the
Parliament and passed without much debate, towards the end of 2008. This Amendment
Act got the President assent on 5 Feb 2009 and was made effective from 27 October
2009.

Some of the notable features of the ITAA are as follows:

 Focusing on data privacy

 Focusing on Information Security
 Defining cyber café

7
Kumar Vinod, Winning the Battle against cyber Crimes available at
http://www.cyberriskinsuranceforum.com/content/are-we-losing-battle-against-cyber-crime.
8
Conference of State IT Ministers and IT Secretaries Cyber Security & Cyber Law 13.2.2018 Ministry of
Electronics and IT Government of India, available at.
https://digitalindia.gov.in/writereaddata/files/MeitY_Cyber%20Security_13%20Feb_Final.pdf

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  Making digital signature technology neutral
 Defining reasonable security practices to be followed by corporate
 Redefining the role of intermediaries
 Recognizing the role of Indian Computer Emergency Response Team
 Inclusion of some additional cyber crimes like child pornography and cyber
terrorism
 Authorizing an Inspector to investigate cyber offences (as against the DSP
earlier).9

9
Dewang Mehta, Role of Police in Tackling Cyber Crimes available at
http://www.naavi.org/pati/pati_cybercrimes_dec03.html.

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 HOW EFFICIENT IS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT, 2000?

It can’t be disputed that Information Technology Act, 2000 though provides certain kinds
of protections but doesn’t cover all the spheres of the I.T where the protection must be
provided. Copyright and trade mark violations do occur on the net but Copy Right Act
1976, or Trade Mark Act 1994 are silent on that which specifically deals with the issue.
Therefore have no enforcement machinery to ensure the protection of domain names on
net. Transmission of e-cash and transactions online are not given protection under
Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881. Online privacy is not protected only Section 43
(penalty for damage to computer or computer system) and 72 (Breach of confidentiality
or privacy) talks about it in some extent but doesn’t hinder the violations caused in the
cyberspace.

Even the Internet Service Providers (ISP) who transmits some third party information
without human intervention is not made liable under the Information Technology Act,
2000. One can easily take shelter under the exemption clause, if he proves that it was
committed without his knowledge or he exercised due diligence to prevent the offence.
Its hard to prove the commission of offence as the terms due diligence and lack of
knowledge have not been defined anywhere in the Act. And unfortunately the Act doesn’t
mention how the extra territoriality would be enforced. This aspect is completely ignored
by the Act, where it had come into existence to look into cyber crime which is on the face
of it an international problem with no territorial boundaries.

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 CYBER OFFENCES IN LAWS OTHER THAN IT ACT

There are many offences which are still not covered under the IT Act, 2000 even after the
Amendment act of 2008 but are still covered under different laws followed in India. The
following laws could be divided in three different categories which are as follows:

I. CONSTITUTIONAL LIABILITY

Hacking into someone’s private property or stealing some one’s intellectual work is a
complete violation of his right to privacy. The Indian constitution does not specifically
provide the “right to privacy” as one of the fundamental rights guaranteed to the Indian
citizens but it is protected under IPC.

Right to privacy is an important natural need of every human being as it creates

boundaries around an individual where the other person’s entry is restricted. The right to
privacy prohibits interference or intrusion in others private life. The apex court of India
has clearly affirmed in its judicial pronouncements that right to privacy is very much a
part of the fundamental right guaranteed under article 21 of the Indian constitution10.

Thus right to privacy is coming under the expended ambit of Article 21 of Indian
constitution. So whenever there is some cyber crime which is related to the persons
private property or its personal stuff then the accused can be charged of violation of
Article 21 of Indian constitution, and prescribed remedy can be invoked against the
accused.11

10
The Constitution of India, 1950.
11
Dewang Mehta, Role of Police in Tackling Cyber Crimes available at
http://www.naavi.org/pati/pati_cybercrimes_dec03.htm.

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 II. CRIMINAL LIABILITY

Criminal liability in India for cyber crimes is defined under the Indian Penal Code
(IPC).12 Certain Following sections of IPC deal with the various cyber crimes:
 Sending threatening messages by e-mail (Sec .503 IPC)
 Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman (Sec.509 IPC)
 Sending defamatory messages by e-mail (Sec .499 IPC)
 Bogus websites , Cyber Frauds (Sec .420 IPC)
 E-mail Spoofing (Sec .463 IPC )
 Making a false document (Sec.464 IPC)
 Forgery for purpose of cheating (Sec.468 IPC)
 Forgery for purpose of harming reputation (Sec.469 IPC)
 Web-Jacking (Sec .383 IPC)
 E-mail Abuse (Sec .500 IPC)
 Punishment for criminal intimidation (Sec.506 IPC)
 Criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication (Sec.507 IPC)
 Obscenity (Sec. 292 IPC )
 Printing etc. of grossly indecent or scurrilous matter or matter intended for
blackmail (Sec.292A IPC)
 Sale, etc., of obscene objects to young person (Sec .293 IPC)
 Obscene acts and songs (Sec.294 IPC )
 Theft of Computer Hardware (Sec. 378 )
 Punishment for theft (Sec.379 )
 Other then the IPC some other piece of legislations also imposes criminal liability
on the accused and these legislations are:-
 Online Sale of Drugs (NDPS Act )
 Online Sale of Arms (Arms Act )
 Copyright infringement (Sec.51 of copyright act, 1957)
 Any person who knowingly infringes or abets the infringement of (Sec.63 of
copyright act, 1957)

12
The Indian Penal Code, 1860.

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  Enhanced penalty on second and subsequent convictions (Sec.63 A of copyright
act, 1957)
 Knowing use of infringing copy of computer program to be an offence (Sec.63B
of copyright act, 1957)

The applications of these sections are subject to the investigating style of investigating
officer and charge sheet filed by the investigating agency and nature of cyber crime.

In India there are number of cases filed under these IPC provisions related to the cyber
crime. According to the report of Home Ministry, in 2012 there are 601 cases filed under
the various provisions of IPC.13

III. TORTIOUS LIABILITY

Basic liability in cyber crime is established through the principle of neighborhood

established from the case of Donoghue v. Stevenson14. But the major tortuous liability in
cyber crimes is through Information Technology Act, 2000 (as amended).

In India the Information Technology Act 2000 was passed to provide legal recognition
for transactions carried out by means of electronic communication. The Act deals with
the law relating to Digital Contracts, Digital Property, and Digital Rights Any violation
of these laws constitutes a crime. The Act prescribes very high punishments for such
crimes. The Information Technology (amendment) Act, 2008(Act 10 of 2009), has
further enhanced the punishments. Life imprisonment and fine upto rupees ten lakhs may
be given for certain classes of cyber crimes. Compensation up to rupees five crores can
be given to affected persons if damage is done to the computer, computer system or
computer network by the introduction of virus, denial of services etc.

13
NCRB, Report on cyber crimes in India-2016, Ministry of Home Affairs, Available at:
http://ncrb.gov.in/StatPublications/CII/CII2016/pdfs/NEWPDFs/Crime%20in%20India%20-
%202016%20Complete%20PDF%20291117.pdf.
14
Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] UKHL 100.

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The following sections are dealing with the cyber crimes:
 Penalty and Compensation for damage to computer, computer system, etc (sec. 43
IT act)
 Compensation for failure to protect data (sec. 43A IT Act)
 Tampering with computer source Documents (sec. 65 IT Act)
 Hacking with computer systems, Data Alteration (sec. 66 IT Act)
 Sending offensive messages through communication service, etc (sec. 66A IT
Act)
 Dishonestly receiving stolen computer resource or communication device (sec.
66B IT Act)
 Identity theft (sec. 66C IT Act)
 Cheating by personating by using computer resource (sec. 66D IT Act)
 Violation of privacy (sec. 66E IT Act)
 Cyber terrorism (sec. 66F Act)
 Publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form (sec. 67 IT Act)
 Publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act, etc. in
electronic form (sec. 67A IT Act)
 Punishment for publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in
sexually explicit act, etc. in electronic form (sec. 67B IT Act)
 Preservation and Retention of information by intermediaries (sec.67C IT Act)
 Powers to issue directions for interception or monitoring or decryption of any
information through any computer resource (sec. 69 IT Act)
 Power to issue directions for blocking for public access of any information
through any computer resource (sec. 69A IT Act)
 Power to authorize to monitor and collect traffic data or information through any
computer resource for Cyber Security (sec. 69B IT Act)
 Un-authorized access to protected system (sec. 70 IT Act)
 Penalty for misrepresentation (sec. 71 IT Act)
 Breach of confidentiality and privacy (sec. 72 IT Act)
 Publishing False digital signature certificates (sec. 73 IT Act)
 Publication for fraudulent purpose (sec. 74 IT Act)

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  Act to apply for offence or contraventions committed outside India (sec. 75 IT
Act)
 Compensation, penalties or confiscation not to interfere with other punishment
 (sec. 77 IT Act)
 Compounding of Offences (sec.77A IT Act)
 Offences with three years imprisonment to be cognizable (sec. 77B IT Act)
 Exemption from liability of intermediary in certain cases (sec. 79 IT Act)
 Punishment for abetment of offences (sec. 84B IT Act)
 Punishment for attempt to commit offences (sec. 84C IT Act)
 Offences by Companies (sec. 85 IT Act)

The applications of these sections are subject to the investigating style of investigating
officer and charge sheet filed by the investigating agency and nature of cyber crime.
In India there are number of cases filed under these IT provisions related to the cyber
crime. According to the report of Home ministry of India, In 2012 there are 2876 cases
filed under the various provisions of IT act.

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 LAWS GOVERNING IDENTITY THEFTS IN INDIA

The crime of identity theft consists of two steps:

 Wrongful collection of personal identity of an individual

 Wrongful use of such information with an intention of causing legal harm to that
person information

An identity theft involves both theft and fraud, therefore the provisions with regard to
forgery as provided under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) is often invoked along with
the Information Technology Act, 2000. Some of the Sections of IPC such as forgery
(Section 464), making false documents (Section 465), forgery for purpose of cheating
(Section 468), reputation (Section 469), using as genuine a forged document (Section
471) and possession of a document known to be forged and intending to use it as genuine
(Section 474) can be coupled with those in the IT Act.15

The Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) is the main act which deals with the
legislation in India governing cybercrimes. Some of the Sections dealing with Cyber
Theft are: -
 Section 43 If any person without permission of the owner damages to computer,
computer system, etc. he/she shall be liable to pay compensation to the person so
affected.
 Section 66 If any person, dishonestly or fraudulently, does any act referred to in
section 43, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may
extend to three years or with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees or with
both.
 Section 66B Punishment for dishonestly receiving stolen computer resource or

15
SS Rana and Associates, “Cyber Theft – A Serious Concern In India, SS Rana and Associates”, available
at.
http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/785836/White+Collar+Crime+Fraud/Cyber+Theft+A+Serious+Concern+
In+India

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 communication device is Imprisonment for a term which may extend to three
years or with fine which may extend to rupees one lakh or with both.
 Section 66C provides for punishment for Identity theft as: Whoever, fraudulently
or dishonestly make use of the electronic signature, password or any other unique
identification feature of any other person, shall be punished with imprisonment of
either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be
liable to fine with may extend to rupees one lakh.
 Section 66 D on the other hand was inserted to punish cheating by impersonation
using computer resources.

With the increase in the number of frauds and cyber related crime, the government is
coming up with refined regulations to protect the interest of the people and safeguard
against any mishappenning on the internet. Further, stronger laws have been formulated
with respect to protection of "sensitive personal data" in the hands of the intermediaries
and service providers (body corporate) thereby ensuring data protection and privacy.

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 CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

Digital space or Cyberspace is the driving force for the world today. From ordering a cab
to ordering food to booking tickets for travel to shopping, everything can happen with
just tapping a finger. The magic that made this happen was the advent of Internet and
technology.

However, as they say every coin has two sides. Cybercrime is the bad boy of the digital
world. Cybercrime, also known as computer crime, is directed towards the use of
computer as an instrument to fulfill illegal means such as intellectual property violation,
committing fraud, child pornography, committing fraud, stealing identities, violating
privacy, etc.

Cyber security is one of the biggest challenges for the world today. Majority of big
crimes today like counterfeiting, terrorism, piracy, privacy etc. are somewhere connected
to the cyberspace in one way or the other. India also is very vulnerable and exposed to the
cyber-attacks in recent times. The reason behind this are the inherent vulnerabilities that
are difficult to be removed, innumerable entry points on the internet, misdirected
attribution to the third parties and the fact that attack technology which is consistently
outpacing the defence technology.

Need for National Cyber Crime Coordination Centre

Over the years, cyber threats as well as incidents of cyber crimes have grown
exponentially. With a wanton disregard to borders, both physical and virtual,
sophisticated criminals are exploiting the speed, convenience and anonymity of the
Internet to execute a range of criminal activities that cause serious harm in India and
elsewhere.
The 2014 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Statistics Report registered a total of
9,322 cyber crime related incidents in 29 States and 300 such cases in seven Union

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Territories (UTs). These figures mark a 69.2 surge in States and 62.2 percent increase in
seven UTs from the previous year. The bulk of cases have been registered under the
Information Technology Act, Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special & Local Laws (SLL)
Cognizable Crimes. The cases have been registered under IPC sections 419, 420 and 509
for ‘financial gain' and 'insult to modesty of women' respectively.
The advent of Digital India and Smart City initiatives have brought about a paradigm
shift in terms of connectivity, services and threats for both urban and rural eco-systems.
While greater connectivity promises wider deliverables, it also paves the way for the
emergence of new vulnerabilities. Indeed, smart cities need smarter policing, and better
information sharing across states and with the central government. This challenge raises
three related questions. First, how should the Indian Police Service prepare to address
these cyber-related threats? How can policy formulation keep pace with a changing
environment? Finally, how can we improve intra-state coordination on cyber issues?

Cyber crime in India

On May 20, 2016, the Indian Police Foundation, in collaboration with Observer Research
Foundation (ORF) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI),
organised a seminar on ‘Cyber Crime — strategic vision and an action plan for
mitigation of threats from the cyber world’. The seminar comprised a host of dignitaries
and experts from industry, government, think tanks, and civil society organisations. The
discussion focused on the entire gamut of cyber issues (viz. cyber security, cyber threats,
cyber terrorism, cyber law, and primarily cyber crime), while also addressing the specific
challenges to the Indian Police Service.16

Overall, India does not possess adequate institutional mechanisms as well as a coherent
strategy to deal with cyber crime. This is evident from the fact that out of the 29 States
and seven UTs, only 19 States and two UTs possess cyber crime cells. However, it is
hoped that this conference would have raised greater awareness and spurred urgent action
to remedy the cyber gaps at the state and national level.

16
Observer Research Foundation, Policing cyber crimes: Need for National Cyber Crime Coordination
Centre, June 17 2016, available at. https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/policing-cyber-crimes-need-for-
national-cyber-crime-coordination-centre/.

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 REFERENCES

Books Referred

 Vakul Sharma, Information Technology – Law and Practice, 5th Ed., Universal
Law Publication, 2017

 K.D. Gaur, Criminal Law–Cases And Materials, Delhi, 7th Ed., Lexis Nexis,
2015.

 PSA Pillai, Criminal Law, Gurgoan, 13th Ed., Lexis Nexis, 2017.

 Ratanlal & Dhirajlal, The Indian Penal Code, Delhi, 33rd Ed., Lexis Nexis, 2017.

Research Papers Referred

 Computer Law: Drafting and Negotiating Forms and Agreements, by Richard

Raysman and Peter Brown. Law Journal Press, 1999–2008. ISBN 978-1-58852-
024-1.
 Zittrain, Jonathan (2003). "Be Careful What You Ask For: Reconciling a Global
Internet and Local Law".
 "Federal Agency Digital and Electronic Signature Regulations".
Isaacbowman.com. 2009-03-16.
 Kumar Vinod, Winning the Battle against cyber Crimes available at
http://www.cyberriskinsuranceforum.com/content/are-we-losing-battle-against-
cyber-crime
 Conference of State IT Ministers and IT Secretaries Cyber Security & Cyber Law
13.2.2018 Ministry of Electronics and IT Government of India, available at.
https://digitalindia.gov.in/writereaddata/files/MeitY_Cyber%20Security_13%20F
eb_Final.pdf
 Dewang Mehta, Role of Police in Tackling Cyber Crimes available at
http://www.naavi.org/pati/pati_cybercrimes_dec03.html

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 Dewang Mehta, Role of Police in Tackling Cyber Crimes available at
http://www.naavi.org/pati/pati_cybercrimes_dec03.htm
 SS Rana and Associates, “Cyber Theft – A Serious Concern In India, SS Rana
and Associates”, available at.
http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/785836/White+Collar+Crime+Fraud/Cyber+The
ft+A+Serious+Concern+In+India
 Observer Research Foundation, Policing cyber crimes: Need for National Cyber
Crime Coordination Centre, June 17 2016, available at.
https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/policing-cyber-crimes-need-for-national-
cyber-crime-coordination-centre/.

Statues Referred

 Constitution of India - 1950

 The Indian Penal Code – 1860

 The Information Technology Act, 2000.

Databases Referred

 INDIANKANOON

 MANUPATRA

 SCC ONLINE

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