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UNIT – 03
 PRESS LAW
Press Laws are the laws concerning the licensing of books and the liberty of expression in all
products of the printing-press, especially newspapers. The liberty of the press has always been
regarded by political writers as of supreme importance. “Give me liberty to know, to utter, and to
argue freely according to conscience, above all other liberties” says Milton in the Areopagitica.

Before the invention of printing, the Church assumed the right to control the expression of all
opinion against to church. When the printing press was invented, German printers established
themselves at various important centres of Western Europe, where already numbers of copyists
were employed in multiplying manuscripts. The Church and universities soon found the output of
books beyond their control. In 1496 Pope Alexander VI began to be obstructive, and in 1501 he
issued a bull against unlicensed printing, which introduced the principle of censorship. Between
1524 and 1548 the Imperial Diet in Germany drew up various severe regulations; and in France,
prohibited by edict, under penalty of death, the printing of books, This was too severe, however, and
shortly afterwards the Sorbonne was given the right of deciding, a system which lasted to the
Revolution.

Censorship
Censorship was either restrictive or corrective, i.e., it interfered to restrict or prevent
publication, or it enforced penalties after publication. Repression of free discussion was regarded
as so necessary a part of government that Sir Thomas More in his Utopia makes it punishable with
death for a private individual to criticize the conduct of the ruling power.

1. Official Secrets Act (India)

It states that any action which involves helping an enemy state against India. It also states
that one cannot approach, inspect, or even pass over a prohibited government site or area.
According to this Act, helping the enemy state can be in the form of communicating a sketch, plan,
model of an official secret, or of official codes or passwords, to the enemy. The disclosure of any
information that is likely to affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, or
friendly relations with foreign States, is punishable by this act.
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Prosecution and penalties

Punishments under the Act range from three to fourteen years imprisonment. A person
prosecuted under this Act can be charged with the crime even if the action was accidental and not
intended to endanger the security of the state.

In any proceedings against a person for an offence under this Act, the fact that he has been
in communication with, or attempted to communicate with a foreign agent, whether within or without
India is relevant and enough to demand prosecution. Under the Act, search warrants may be issued
at any time if the magistrate feels that based on the evidence in front of them there is enough danger
to the security of the state.

Uninterested members of the public may be excluded from court proceedings if the
prosecutions feels that any information which is going to be passed on during the proceedings is
sensitive. This also includes media; so the journalists will not be allowed to cover that particular
case.

When a company is seen as the offender under this Act, everyone involved with the
management of the company including the board of directors can be liable for punishment. In the
case of a newspaper everyone including the editor, publisher and the proprietor can be jailed for an
offence.

In the OSA clause 6, information from any governmental office is considered official
information, hence it can be used to override Right to Information Act 2005 requests. This has drawn
harsh criticism.

2. Press & Registration of Books Act

The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 is the oldest of the existing Press Laws in
India. It is act for the regulation of printing-presses and newspapers, for the preservation of copies
of books and newspapers printed in India and for the registration of such books and newspapers. It
has been amended in the years of Independence but the amendments have been made to meet
specific situations

During the reign of the British Government in India writing of books and other informatory
material took a concrete shape. Thrust on education gave an impetus to this with the result that lot
of printed material became available. Those in the field of writing, publishing and printing gave a
thought to organise a system for keeping a record of the publications. The then East India Company
was urged to keep a record of the publications. An attempt was made by the authorities to make a
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collection of the books and other publications emanating from the various printing presses
throughout India. Board of Directors of East India Company issued an instruction that copies of
every important and interesting work published in India should be despatched to England to be
deposited in the library of India House. Such an instruction had a slow impact.
Again the Royal Asiatic Society in London urged the then Secretary of State for India to repeat
the instruction of the late Board of Directors of East India Company and also desired that catalogues
of all the works published in India should be sent to England. A system of voluntary registrations of
publications was evolved but it failed.
It was found necessary to establish a system of compulsory sale to Government, of three
copies of each work in India. To achieve this purpose a Bill was introduced in the Legislature for the
regulation of printing presses and newspaper for the preservation of copies of books and periodicals
containing news printed in the whole of India and for the registration of such books and periodicals
containing news.
According to this law-
Every book or paper printed within India shall have printed legibly on it the name of the printer
and the place of printing, and (if the book or paper be published [the name] of the publisher and the
place of publication.
Every copy of newspaper shall contain the name of the person who is the editor thereof
printed clearly on such copy as the name of the editor of that newspaper.
This Act extends to the whole of India . . .

3. Copyright Act

The Copyright Act, 1957 governs the laws & applicable rules related to the subject of
copyrights in India. All copyright related laws are governed by the Copyright Act, 1957. The
Copyright Act today is compliant with most international conventions and treaties in the field of
copyrights.

Copyright is a right given by the law to the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic
works and producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings. In fact, it is a bundle of rights
including, inter alia, rights of reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and translation
of the work. There could be slight variations in the composition of the rights depending on the work.

An artistic work means- A painting, a sculpture, a drawing (including a diagram, map, chart
or plan), an engraving or a photograph, whether or not any such work possesses artistic quality.
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"Musical work" means- A work consisting of music and includes any graphical notation of
such work but does not include any words or any action intended to be sung, spoken or performed
with the music. A musical work need not be written down to enjoy copyright protection.

"Sound recording" means- A recording of sounds from which sounds may be produced
regardless of the medium on which such recording is made or the method by which the sounds are
produced. A phonogram and a CD-ROM are sound recordings.

"Cinematograph film"- means any work of visual recording on any medium produced
through a process from which a moving image may be produced by any means and includes a
sound recording accompanying such visual recording and "cinematograph" shall be construed as
including any work produced by any process analogous to cinematography including video films.

Government work - "Government work" means a work which is made or published by or

under the direction or control of the government or any department of the government any legislature
in India, and any court, tribunal or other judicial authority in India.

Duration of Copyright

a. Literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works- lifetime of the author + sixty years from the
beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies.
b. Anonymous and pseudonymous works, Posthumous work, Cinematograph films, Sound
records, Government work, Public undertakings, International Agencies, photographs- until
sixty years from the beginning of the calendar years next following the year in which the work
is first published.

4. Contempt of Court Act

Individuals may be cited for contempt when they disobey an order, fail to comply with a
request, tamper with documents, withhold evidence, interrupt proceedings through their actions or
words, or otherwise defy a public authority or hold it up to ridicule and disrespect.

Contempt of court is behaviour that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the
court. Contempt charges may be brought against parties to proceedings; lawyers or other court
officers or personnel; jurors; witnesses; or people who insert themselves in a case, such as
protesters outside a courtroom. Courts have great leeway in making contempt charges, and thus
confusion sometimes exists about the distinctions between types of contempt. Generally, however,
contempt proceedings are categorized as civil or criminal, and direct or indirect.

There are two types of Contempt of court- Civil and Criminal Contempt of Court.
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Civil contempt generally involves the failure to perform an act that is ordered by a court as
a means to enforce the rights of individuals or to secure remedies for parties in a civil action. For
instance, parents who refuse to pay court-ordered Child Support may be held in contempt of court
under civil contempt.

Criminal contempt involves behaviour that assaults the dignity of the court or impairs the
ability of the court to conduct its work. Criminal contempt can occur within a civil or criminal case.
For example, criminal contempt occurs when a witness or spectator shouts or insults the judge
during a trial. A civil contempt usually is a violation of the rights of one person, whereas a criminal
contempt is an offense against society. Courts use civil contempt as a coercive power, wielding it
only to ask that the contemnor comply with the courts' actions. Criminal contempt is punitive; courts
use it to punish parties who have impaired the courts' functioning or bruised their dignity.

Direct contempt is an act that occurs in the presence of the court and is intended to
embarrass or engender disrespect for the court. Shouting in the courtroom or refusing to answer
questions for a judge or attorney under oath is a direct contempt.

Indirect contempt occurs outside the presence of the court, but its intention is also to belittle,
mock, obstruct, interrupt, or degrade the court and its proceedings. Attempting to bribe a district
attorney is an example of an indirect contempt. Publishing any material that results in a contempt
charge is an indirect contempt. Other kinds of indirect contempt include preventing process service,
improperly communicating to or by jurors, and withholding evidence. One man was threatened with
contempt charges because he had filed more than 350 lawsuits that the judge considered frivolous.
Indirect contempt also may be called constructive or consequential contempt; all three terms mean
the same thing.

5. Young Person’s Harmful Publication Act

This Act may be called the Young Persons Act, 1956. It is an act to prevent the dissemination
of certain publications harmful to young persons. This act extends to the whole of India except the
State of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Harmful publication "means any book, magazine, pamphlet, leaflet, newspaper or other like
publication which consists of stories told with the aid of pictures or without the aid of pictures or
wholly in pictures, being stories portraying wholly or mainly-

(i) The commission of offences; or

(ii) Acts of violence or cruelty; or
(iii) Incidents of a repulsive or horrible nature;
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In such a way that the publication as a whole would tend to corrupt a young person into whose
hands it might fall, whether by inciting or encouraging him to commit offences or acts of violence or
cruelty or in any other manner. “Young person " means a person under the age of twenty years.

Penalty for sale, etc., of harmful publications-

If a person sells, lets to hire, distributes, publicly exhibits or in any manner puts into
circulation, any harmful publication, or for purposes of sale, hire, distribution, public exhibition or
circulation, prints, makes or produces or has in his possession any harmful publication, or advertises
or makes known by any means whatsoever that any harmful publication can be procured from or
through any person, he shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months, or
with fine, or with both.

6. Indecent Representation of Women’s Act-1986

An Act to prohibit indecent representation of women through advertisements or in publications,

writings, paintings, figures or in any other manner and for matters connected therewith or incidental
thereto. This Act may be called the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986. This
act extends to the whole of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 an Act of the Parliament of India
which was enacted to prohibit indecent representation of women through advertisement or in
publications, writings, paintings, figures or in any other manner.

According to this Law-

"Indecent representation of women" means the representation in any manner of the figure of a
woman or her form or body or any part thereof in such way as to have the effect of being indecent,
or is likely to deprave, corrupt or injure the public morality or morals.

Prohibition of publication or sending by post of books, pamphlets, etc; containing indecent

representation of women.- No person shall produce or cause to be produced, sell , let to hire,
distribute, circulate or send by post any book, pamphlet, paper, slide, film, writing, drawing, painting,
photograph , representation or figure which contains indecent representation of women in any form.

Penalty - Any person who violates the provisions of Sec 3 or Sec 4 shall be punishable on first
conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, and
with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, and in the event of a second or subsequent
conviction with imprisonment for term of not less than six months but which may extend to five years
and also with a fine not less than ten thousand rupees but which may extend to one lakh rupees.
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7. Drug & Magic Remedies Act

The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 is an Act of the
Parliament of India which controls advertising of drugs in India. It prohibits advertisements of drugs
and remedies that claim to have magical properties, and makes doing so a cognizable offence. This
act extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

An Act to control the advertisement of drugs in certain cases, to prohibit the advertisement for certain
purposes of remedies alleged to possess magic qualities and to provide for matters connected
therewith.

Definition-

‘Advertisement’ includes any notice, circular, label, wrapper, or other document, and any
announcement made orally or by any means of producing or transmitting light, sound or smoke.

‘Drug’ includes-

(i) A medicine for the internal or external use of human beings or animals;
(ii) Any substance intended to be used for or in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or
prevention of disease in human beings or animals;
(iv) Any article, other than food, intended to affect or influence in any way the structure or any
organic function of the body of human beings or animals;
(v) Any article intended for use as a component of any medicine, substance or article.

‘Magic remedy’ includes a talisman, mantra, kavacha, and any other charm of any kind which is
alleged to possess miraculous powers for or in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or
prevention of any disease in human beings or animals or for affecting or influencing in any way the
structure or any organic function of the body of human beings or animals.

Penalty– Whoever contravenes any of the provisions of this Act [or the rules made there under]
shall, on conviction, be punishable –

a) In the case of a first conviction, with imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with fine,
or with both.

b) In the case of a subsequent conviction, with imprisonment which may extend to one year, or with
fine, or with both.
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8. Working Journalists Act

The Act provides for regulation for certain conditions of service of working journalists and other
persons employed in newspaper establishments. The Act provides that for the purpose of fixing or
revising rates of wages in respect of working journalists, the Central Government as and when
necessary shall constitute Wage Board.

After receipt of the recommendations of the Board, the Central Government is required to make an
order in terms of recommendations and this order becomes applicable on the class of newspaper
establishments for which the Board has recommended.

All the Assistant Labour Commissioners of the Labour Department have been appointed Inspectors
for carrying out the enforcement work under the Act for their respective districts.

Deputy Labour Commissioners have been authorized for the recovery of the amount due to the
newspaper employees under the provisions of the Act. The amount can be recovered by issue of a
certificate for the amount to the Collector for recovery of the amount as arrears of land revenue.

According to this act-

 Payment of gratuity for working journalist with three years of service on termination (other
than by punishment) or retirement, or voluntarily resigns or dies in service, shall be paid 15
days average pay for every completed year of service or part in excess of service or part in
excess of 6 months.
 Hours of work not more than 144 hours in 4 weeks.
 Rest day for not less than 24 hours for every seven days of work.
 Fixation of wage rates by Center through Wage boards.
 Wage Board with 3 representatives of employers, working journalists, four independent
persons under chairmanship of High court or Supreme Court former judge.

PENALTY

The penalty provided for contravention of any of the provisions of the Act or any rule made there
under is punishment with a fine which may extend to Rs. 200/- and Rs. 500/- for subsequent
contravention.
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9. Wage Board

Wage board was a board created by Government to fix or revise rates of wages for working
Journalists and non-journalist newspaper employees. Wage Board consist of 3 representatives of
employers, working journalists, and four independent persons under chairmanship of High court or
Supreme Court former judge. This board give representations to working journalist and other
persons for fixing wages for working journalists, based on cost of living comparable employment.
Wage board has powers of Industrial Tribunal under ID act. On recommendations, government can
make order wage fixation.

10. Cinematograph- 1952 [Film certification rules]

It is an act to regulate the film industry. It is notable for having accidentally provided the legal basis
for film censorship, leading to the establishment of the Central Board of Film Certification.

The Cinematograph Act lays down that a film shall not be certified if any part of it is against the
interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with
foreign States, public order, decency or involves defamation or contempt of court or is likely to incite
commission of any offence.

Under section 5B (2) the Central Government has issued the following guidelines.
(i) A film is judged in its entirety from the point of view of its overall impact and is examined in
the light of the period depicted in the film and the contemporary standards of the country and
the people to whom the film relates, provided that the film does not deprave the morality of
the audience. Guidelines are applied to the titles of the films also.
(ii) . Objectives of Film Certification
 The medium of film remains responsible and sensitive to the values and standards of society
artistic expression and creative freedom are not unduly curbed.
 Certification is responsible to social changes.
 The medium of film provides clean and healthy entertainment.
 The film is of aesthetic value and cinematically of a good standard.
 In pursuance of the above objectives, the CBFC shall ensure that anti-social activities such
as violence are not glorified or justified the modus operandi of criminals, other visuals or
words likely to incite the commission of any offence are not depicted.
 Do not show the involvement of children in violence as victims or perpetrators or as forced
witnesses to violence, or showing children as being subjected to any form of child abuse.
 Do not show the abuse or ridicule of physically and mentally handicapped persons.
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 Do not show the cruelty to, or abuse of animals, are not presented needlessly
 Pointless or avoidable scenes of violence, cruelty and horror, scenes of violence primarily
intended to provide entertainment and such scenes as may have the effect of de-sensitising
or de-humanising people are not shown;
 Scenes which have the effect of justifying or glorifying drinking are not shown.
 Scenes tending to encourage, justify or glamorise consumption of tobacco or smoking are
not shown.

The Board of Film Certification shall also ensure that the film

i) Is judged in its entirety from the point of view of its overall impact.
ii) Is examined in the light of the period depicted in the films and the contemporary standards
of the country and the people to which the film relates provided that the film does not
deprave the morality of the audience.
iii) Films that meet the above – mentioned criteria but are considered unsuitable for exhibition
to non-adults shall be certified for exhibition to adult audiences only.

While certifying films for unrestricted public exhibition, the Board shall ensure that the film is
suitable for family viewing, that is to say, the film shall be such that all the members of the family
including children can view it together.

If the Board, having regard to the nature, content and theme of the film is of the opinion that it is
necessary to caution the parents / guardian to consider as to whether any child below the age of
twelve years may be allowed to see such a film, the film shall be certified for unrestricted public
exhibition with an endorsement to that effect.

If the Board having regard to the nature, content and theme of the film, is of the opinion that the
exhibition of the film should be restricted to members of any profession or any class of persons,
the film shall be certified for public exhibition restricted to the specialized audiences to be
specified by the Board in this behalf.

The Board shall scrutinize the titles of the films carefully and ensure that they are not provocative,
vulgar, and offensive or violate of any of the above-mentioned guidelines.
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CENTRAL BOARD OF FILM CERTIFICATION (CBFC)

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory body under Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting, regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph
Act 1952. Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they have been certified by the Central
Board of Film Certification.

For the purpose of sanctioning films for public exhibition, the Central Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, constitute a Board to be called the Central Board of Film
Certification which shall consist of a Chairman and [not less than twelve and not more than twenty-
five] other members appointed by the Central Government.

The Chairman of the Board shall receive such salary and allowances as may be determined by the
Central Government, and the other members shall receive such allowances or fees for attending the
meetings of the Board as may be prescribed.

The Board, consists of non-official members and a Chairman (all of whom are appointed by
Central Government) and functions with headquarters at Mumbai. It has nine Regional offices, one
each at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, New Delhi,
Cuttack and Guwahati. The Regional Offices are assisted in the examination of films by Advisory
Panels. The members of the panels are nominated by Central Government by drawing people from
different walks of life for a period of 2 years.

11. Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual property (IP) is the creation of human intellect. It refers to the ideas, knowledge,
invention, innovation, creativity, and research etc. all being the product of human mind and is similar
to any property, whether movable or immovable, wherein the proprietor or the owner may exclusively
use his property at will and has the right to prevent others from using it, without his permission. The
rights relating to intellectual property are known as 'Intellectual Property Rights'.

Intellectual Property Rights, by providing exclusive rights to the inventor or creator,

encourages more and more people to invest time, efforts and money in such innovations and
creations. Intellectual property rights are customarily divided into two main areas:-

(i) Copyright and rights related to copyright: - the rights of authors of literary and artistic
works (such as books and other writings, musical compositions, paintings, sculpture,
computer programs and films) are protected by copyright. Also, protection is granted to
related or neighbouring rights like the rights of performers (e.g. actors, singers and
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musicians), producers of phonograms (sound recordings) and broadcasting

organizations.
(ii) Industrial property, which is divided into two main areas:-
One area can be characterized as the protection of distinctive signs, in particular
trademarks (which distinguish the goods or services of one undertaking from those of
other undertakings) and geographical indications (which identify a good as originating in
a place where a given characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its
geographical origin).

Other types of industrial property are protected primarily to stimulate innovation, design
and the creation of technology. This category includes inventions (protected by patents),
industrial designs and trade secrets.
The issue of Intellectual Property Rights was brought on an international platform of
negotiation by World Trade Organization (WTO) through its Agreement on Trade Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). This agreement narrowed down the differences existing in
the extent of protection and enforcement of the Intellectual Property rights (IPRs) around the world
by bringing them under a common minimum internationally agreed trade standards. The member
countries are required to abide by these standards within stipulated time-frame. India, being a
signatory of TRIPS has evolved an elaborate administrative and legislative framework for protection
of its intellectual property.

12. Privacy and Cyber Laws

The term ‘cybercrime’ is a misnomer. This term has nowhere been defined in any statute /Act passed
or enacted by the Indian Parliament. The concept of cybercrime is not radically different from the
concept of conventional crime. Both include conduct whether act or omission, which cause breach
of rules of law and counterbalanced by the sanction of the state.

Before evaluating the concept of cybercrime it is obvious that the concept of conventional crime be
discussed and the points of similarity and deviance between both these forms may be discussed.

CYBER CRIME

Cybercrime is the latest and perhaps the most complicated problem in the cyber world. “Cybercrime
may be said to be those species, of which, genus is the conventional crime, and where either the
computer is an object or subject of the conduct constituting crime”. “Any criminal activity that uses
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a computer either as an instrumentality, target or a means for perpetuating further crimes comes
within the ambit of cybercrime”

A generalized definition of cyber-crime may be “ unlawful acts wherein the computer is either a tool
or target or both”. The computer may be used as a tool in the following kinds of activity- financial
crimes, sale of illegal articles, pornography, online gambling, intellectual property crime, e-mail
spoofing, forgery, cyber defamation, cyber stalking. The computer may however be target for
unlawful acts in the following cases- unauthorized access to computer/ computer system/ computer
networks, theft of information contained in the electronic form, e-mail bombing, data didling, salami
attacks, logic bombs, Trojan attacks, internet time thefts, web jacking, theft of computer system,
physically damaging the computer system.

MODE AND MANNER OF COMMITING CYBER CRIME:

1. Unauthorized access to computer systems or networks / Hacking-

This kind of offence is normally referred as hacking in the generic sense. However the framers of
the information technology act 2000 have nowhere used this term so to avoid any confusion we
would not interchangeably use the word hacking for ‘unauthorized Access’ as the latter has wide
connotation.

2. Theft of information contained in electronic form-

This includes information stored in computer hard disks, removable storage media etc. Theft may
be either by appropriating the data physically or by tampering them through the virtual medium.

3. Email bombing-

This kind of activity refers to sending large numbers of mail to the victim, which may be an individual
or a company or even mail servers there by ultimately resulting into crashing.

4. Data diddling-

This kind of an attack involves altering raw data just before a computer processes it and then
changing it back after the processing is completed. The electricity board faced similar problem of
data diddling while the department was being computerised.

5. Salami attacks-

This kind of crime is normally prevalent in the financial institutions or for the purpose of committing
financial crimes. An important feature of this type of offence is that the alteration is so small that it
would normally go unnoticed. E.g. the Ziegler case wherein a logic bomb was introduced in the
bank’s system, which deducted 10 cents from every account and deposited it in a particular account.
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6. Denial of Service attack-

The computer of the victim is flooded with more requests than it can handle which cause it to crash.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is also a type of denial of service attack, in which the
offenders are wide in number and widespread. E.g. Amazon, Yahoo.

7. Virus / worm attacks-

Viruses are programs that attach themselves to a computer or a file and then circulate themselves
to other files and to other computers on a network. They usually affect the data on a computer, either
by altering or deleting it. Worms, unlike viruses do not need the host to attach themselves to. They
merely make functional copies of themselves and do this repeatedly till they eat up all the available
space on a computer's memory. E.g. love bug virus, which affected at least 5 % of the computers of
the globe. The losses were accounted to be $ 10 million. The world's most famous worm was the
Internet worm let loose on the Internet by Robert Morris sometime in 1988. Almost brought
development of Internet to a complete halt.

8. Logic bombs-

These are event dependent programs. This implies that these programs are created to do
something only when a certain event (known as a trigger event) occurs. E.g. even some viruses
may be termed logic bombs because they lie dormant all through the year and become active only
on a particular date (like the Chernobyl virus).

9. Trojan attacks-

This term has its origin in the word ‘Trojan horse’. In software field this means an unauthorized
programme, which passively gains control over another’s system by representing itself as an
authorised programme. The most common form of installing a Trojan is through e-mail. E.g. a Trojan
was installed in the computer of a lady film director in the U.S. while chatting. The cyber criminal
through the web cam installed in the computer obtained her nude photographs. He further harassed
this lady.

10. Internet time thefts-

Normally in these kinds of thefts the Internet surfing hours of the victim are used up by another
person. This is done by gaining access to the login ID and the password. E.g. Colonel Bajwa’s case-
the Internet hours were used up by any other person. This was perhaps one of the first reported
cases related to cyber-crime in India. However this case made the police infamous as to their lack
of understanding of the nature of cyber-crime.
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11. Web jacking-

This term is derived from the term hi jacking. In these kinds of offences the hacker gains
access and control over the web site of another. He may even mutilate or change the information
on the site. This may be done for fulfilling political objectives or for money. E.g. recently the site of
MIT (Ministry of Information Technology) was hacked by the Pakistani hackers and some obscene
matter was placed therein. Further the site of Bombay crime branch was also web jacked. Another
case of web jacking is that of the ‘gold fish’ case. In this case the site was hacked and the information
pertaining to gold fish was changed. Further a ransom of US $ 1 million was demanded a ransom.
Thus web jacking is a process whereby control over the site of another is made backed by some
consideration for it.

Cyber Law of India

Cyber-crimes can involve criminal activities that are traditional in nature, such as theft, fraud, forgery,
defamation and mischief, all of which are subject to the Indian Penal Code. The abuse of computers
has also given birth to a gamut of new age crimes that are addressed by the Information Technology
Act, 2000.

We can categorize Cyber-crimes in two ways- The Computer as a Target:-using a computer to attack
other computers.

E.g. Hacking, Virus/Worm attacks, DOS attack etc.

The computer as a weapon:-using a computer to commit real world crimes.

E.g. Cyber Terrorism, IPR violations, Credit card frauds, EFT frauds, Pornography etc.

The Information Technology Act, 2000

Information Technology Act 2000 addressed the following issues:

1. Legal Recognition of Electronic Documents

2. Legal Recognition of Digital Signatures

3. Offenses and Contraventions

4. Justice Dispensation Systems for Cybercrimes

ITAA 2008 (Information Technology Amendment Act 2008) as the new version of Information
Technology Act 2000 is often referred has provided additional focus on Information Security. It has
added several new sections on offences including Cyber Terrorism and Data Protection.
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13. Right to Information Act, 2005

The Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI) is an Act of the Parliament of India "to provide for
setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens." The Act applies to all States and
Union Territories of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir has its
own act called Jammu & Kashmir Right to Information Act, 2009.

Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen may request information from a "public authority"
(a body of Government or "instrumentality of State") which is required to reply expeditiously or
within thirty days. The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide
dissemination and to pro-actively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need
minimum recourse to request for information formally.

This law was passed by Parliament on 15 June 2005 and came fully into force on 13 October
2005. Information disclosure in India was hitherto restricted by the Official Secrets Act 1923 and
various other special laws, which the new RTI Act now relaxes.

This Act empowers every citizen to:

• Ask any questions from the Government or seek any information.

• Take copies of any governmental documents.

• Inspect any governmental documents.

• Inspect any Governmental works.

• Take samples of materials of any Governmental work.

Under this Act, all authorities covered must appoint their Public Information Officer (PIO). Any person
may submit a request to the PIO for information in writing. It is the PIO's obligation to provide
information to citizens of India who request information under the Act. If the request pertains to
another public authority (in whole or part), it is the PIO's responsibility to transfer/forward the
concerned portions of the request to a PIO of the other within 5 working days. In addition, every
public authority is required to designate Assistant Public Information Officers (APIOs) to receive RTI
requests and appeals for forwarding to the PIOs of their public authority. The applicant is not
required to disclose any information or reasons other than his name and contact particulars to seek
the information.

The Act specifies time limits for replying to the request.

• If the request has been made to the PIO, the reply is to be given within 30 days of receipt.

• If the request has been made to an APIO, the reply is to be given within 35 days of receipt.
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• If the PIO transfers the request to another public authority (better concerned with the
information requested), the time allowed to reply is 30 days but computed from the day after it is
received by the PIO of the transferee authority.

• Information concerning corruption and Human Rights violations by scheduled Security

agencies (those listed in the Second Schedule to the Act) is to be provided within 45 days but with
the prior approval of the Central Information Commission.

• However, if life or liberty of any person is involved, the PIO is expected to reply within 48
hours.

RTInation

RTInation is an online system which, for a fee, facilitates the filing of RTI applications online. It
primarily aims at minimizing time taken and effort required in filing an application. Typically a PIO
needs to reply within 30–40 days of receiving an application. Assistance is also provided for
submitting further appeals.

The portal also provides information about the Right to Information Act, 2005, it hosts a forum to
discuss issues of common interest, directions on drafting a good application.