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hey will tell you that the Information
Technology (IT) Bill is going to set the country on fire! Cynical as I am, I see no
reason to disbelieve them. However, we need to be careful when hype outpaces
common sense. The IT Bill is a great piece of cyber art—it will herald electronic
commerce in India, change outdated provisions of 19th century laws and help deal
with new and innovative cyber crimes. Indeed, one does require a law so that
people can buy over the Net without the fear of credit card details being misused.
One does require laws to avoid infamous episodes like the one in which actress
Pooja Bhatt became a victim of manipulative pornography. And laws are also required
to verify the authenticity of an e-mail or the identity of the person with whom you
are conducting business on the Net. However, Clause 79 of the Bill allows unlimited
power to police—and steps may have to be taken to ensure that this is not misused.
Overall, the Minister of Information Technology, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, the
government and Parliament need to be congratulated for the fact that India has
become the 12th country in the world to have cyber laws. (The Bill has been
passed by Parliament and awaits notification). The IT Bill’s real test, though, will
come during its implementation when some of its clauses will require a closer
examination.
The Bill, first of all, offers the much-needed legal framework so that information
is not denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability merely on the ground that it is in
the form of electronic records. In view of the growth in transactions and
communications carried out through the electronic mode, the Bill seeks to empower
government departments to accept filing and retention of official documents in the
digital format. Similarly, unless otherwise agreed upon, even a contract in the
electronic form will be acceptable. For instance, computerized printouts of
documents pertaining to land records will now be admissible in court.
The Hindustan Times May 21, 2000
Who’s Afraid Of Cyber Police, Anyway!
