Laws & Regulations

BENGALURU – The digital landscape remains a fertile ground for fraudsters, demanding laws that address online impersonation, phishing, and data theft. While the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 (as amended) provides targeted tools, its interplay with India's new primary criminal code, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), shapes the legal response.The IT Act's core provisions against cyber fraud remain critical. Section 66D (punishment for cheating by personation using computer resource) and Section 66C (punishment for identity theft) directly tackle prevalent online scams. These specialized sections operate alongside the general provisions of the BNS. For instance, the elements of 'cheating' defined in Section 318 of the BNS could potentially be invoked in online scenarios if its criteria are met, complementing the IT Act.Enforcement challenges persist: establishing jurisdiction across borders, authenticating digital evidence as per the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA) – particularly its provisions corresponding to the earlier Section 65B regarding electronic records [now Section 63 BSA] – and proving criminal intent online.Intermediary liability rules, governed by Section 79 of the IT Act, continue to provide safe harbour for platforms contingent on due diligence, under updated government guidelines. The fight against cyber fraud under the new legal regime necessitates a combined application of the IT Act's specific tools and the BNS's foundational definitions of offences like cheating or forgery [e.g., Section 337 BNS for forgery for cheating], all navigated through the procedures of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS).