Evolution of Cyber Law in India


With an increase in the dependency on the use of technology, the need for cyberlaw was necessary. Much like every coin has two sides, therefore, the dependency on technology has its pros and cons. The rise of the 21st century marked the evolution of cyberlaw in India with the Information Technology Act, 2000 (popularly known as the IT Act). The first-ever cybercrime was recorded in the year 1820.

The objective of the Information Technology Act in India is as follows:

• To provide legal recognition for all e-transactions.
• To give legal recognition to digital signatures as a valid signature to accept agreements online.
• To give legal recognition to keeping accounting books in electronic form by bankers as well as other organizations.
• Protection of online privacy and stopping cyber crimes

The Indian IT law updated the Reserve Bank of India Act and the Indian Evidence Act. With the evolution of cyberlaw, almost all online activities came under scrutiny. However, one thing about cyber law is that there are certain areas on which cybercrime laws in India do not apply such as:

• Negotiable Instrument being other than cheque
• Power of Attorney
• Will
• The contract for Sale or Conveyance of Immovable Property
• Central Government notified documents or transactions

The Need for Cyber Law

In the present world which is more tech-savvy, the words cyber law and cyber crimes have also become more sophisticated. Internet and technology were launched for research purposes and making the lives of humans easy but as the use and number of people on the internet increased, the need for cyber laws in India was felt. As the nature of the internet is anonymous it is easy to commit cybercrimes. Thereby many could misuse this aspect largely.

Advocate Tanuj Aggarwal says, "With the exponential growth in the digital space, the establishment of certain reforms was highly needed for the security of the citizen’s privacy and data protection."

What is the Information Technology Act, 2000?

When the emphasis was on the need for cyber law or cybersecurity laws, then, it was imperative to implement an IT law in India. Thus, the Information Technology Act, 2000[1], or also known as the Indian Cyber Act or the Internet Law came to force in India. Since the enactment, the Indian Internet Laws were drafted to bring in view all the electronic records and online/electronic activities to legal recognition. The IT Act also addresses the important issues of security, which are critical to the success of electronic transactions. The Internet Laws in India not only validates digital signatures but also provides for how authentication of the documents, which has been accepted and generated by using the digital signatures, can be done.
As IT Act is a cybersecurity law introduced to secure cyberspace, the Information Technology Law was amended under;

• The Indian Penal Code
• The Indian Evidence Act
• The Banker’s Book Evidence Act
• The Reserve Bank of India

The prime focus of cyber law in India is to prevent:

• computer crime
• forgery of electronic data & record in e-commerce
• electronic transaction

IT Act, 2000 went through amendments[2]in the year 2008. These were made in light of the laws on cybercrime - IT Act, 2000 by way of the IT Act, 2008. They were enforced at the beginning of 2009 to strengthen the cybersecurity laws. ​Modifications in the Information Technology Act, 2008 included the change in the definition of some terms such as communication devices. The amendment for the definition of communication device was to include:

• the current use
• to validate the digital signature
• to make the IP address owner accountable
• impose liability for data breaches