The Scary Reality Of Cyberstalking: The Law Can’t Protect Us (Yet)

India’s existing laws cannot adequately deal with the menace of cyberstalking, writes Pavan Duggal.

Cyberstalkers today have a host of tools at their disposal. (Photo: Rahul Gupta/The Quint)

The Vijay Nair cyberstalking case, which has been hogging national headlines, has shown that cyberstalkers today are intelligent. They have plenty of ammunition up their sleeves and don’t seem to mind going the extra mile to target their victims.

Welcome to the new world of cyberstalking. Today, the internet’s dark underbelly is on full display. Cybercrime is on the rise. In the Indian context, we find that those with sadistic tendencies tend to prefer cyberstalking as a means to target unsuspecting victims.

Cyberstalking is not a new phenomenon. It came to India a few years after the Internet was commercially introduced in the country.

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Cyberstalking and the IT Act

The Ritu Kohli case of 2000 is the first reported incident of cyberstalking in India. The case made headlines at a time when cyberstalking was not included in the Indian cyberlaw – the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Section 66A was included in the Information Technology Act, 2000, when it was amended after the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in 2008. It was drafted in wide terms, so as to include various instances of cyberstalking.

This is because whenever a person cyberstalks another person, he sends, by means of a computer resource or a communication device, information which is grossly offensive or has menacing character.

Even though Section 66A was enacted with noble intentions, it came to be extensively misused. Consequently, in a landmark judgement in March 2015, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India struck down Section 66A as unconstitutional. Since the passing of the said judgment, cyberstalking as a phenomenon has extensively grown in India. With the advent of new and advanced communication devices, cyberstalking began to increasingly acquire a mobile flavour.

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What Does The Law Say About Cyberstalking?

Currently, Indian cyberlaw does not directly cover cyberstalking – there are no specific provisions that deal with the crime.

It is only when the cyberstalker publishes obscene content that a case can be brought under the ambit of Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Some instances of cyberstalking could also be covered under Section 354D of the Indian Penal Code. However, the provision is not an exhaustive one.

The emerging reality is that the current legal framework is inadequate to deal with, and tackle the menace of, cyberstalking in India. The net result is that victims of cyberstalking continue to suffer in silence. 

A majority of these victims don’t report the crime to the police. This, in turn, encourages cyberstalkers to continue carrying out criminal activities. The situation is further complicated by the inadequate support provided by social media service providers and intermediaries in this regard. The current situation has diluted people’s faith in the ability of the legal framework to give them effective remedies in the event that they fall victim to cyberstalking.

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So, What’s A Possible Solution?

Today, cyberstalking is a prominent cybercrime in India. With no effective legal remedies for the victims in sight, it is time to amend Indian cyberlaw to include specific and detailed legal provisions to tackle the menace of cyberstalking.

Cyberstalking needs to be made as a heinous offence punishable with minimum seven years imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 20 lakh.

India needs to amend its cyberlaw and ensure effective implementation of the same.

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However, the law can only play a limited role. It is high time that internet users understand that they must exercise due diligence when sharing personal information on the web. Share information on a need-to-know basis and work to protect your privacy.

Being careful online could keep you from becoming a potential victim of cyberstalking. It will be interesting to see how the laws concerning cyberstalking evolve in the days to come.

(The author is a Supreme Court advocate and is Asia’s leading expert and authority on Cyberlaw, Cyber Security Law & Mobile Law. Pavan Duggal has been acknowledged as one of the top four cyber-lawyers in the world. He can be contacted at his email addresses [e-mail] and [e-mail].)