Cyber crimes are increasing at a rapid speed in
India. However, cyber
crimes investigation in India has still to be developed to
tackle these cyber crimes effectively. As on date the cyber crime
investigation capabilities of law enforcement agencies of India is
still deficient and they need proper training in this regard.
The legal and judicial systems of India also need to
adapt as per the contemporary information technology oriented
society. However, a majority of cyber crimes in India are not
reported at all. Even if some cyber crimes are reported, they are not
properly investigated and very few such cyber crime cases reach to
the court level.
In the absence of scientific
evidence and knowledge and proper cyber crime
investigation, there are very few cyber crimes convictions in India.
In fact, the Supreme Court of India is hearing many Public Interest
Litigations (PILs) in this regard.
In one such PIL the Supreme Court of India has
issued notice to Centre to seek its views in this regard. The Supreme
Court has sought response from the Centre on a PIL seeking its
direction to the government to frame regulations and guidelines for
effective investigation of cyber crimes in India.
The notice has been issued by a Three Judge Bench of
Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir. The PIL alleges
that the common people are being harassed by police due to lack of
procedural safeguards in the prevalent system of cyber laws.
The PIL originated out of the allegations of
Pune-based businessman Dilip Kumar Tulsidas Shah who claimed that he
was harassed by the police in a cyber crime case in which he was not
involved.
The petitioner seeks the remedy of issuing a writ of Mandamus, order or direction to the Centre to frame an appropriate regulatory framework of rules, regulations and guidelines for effective investigation of cyber crimes, keeping in mind the fundamental rights of citizens.
The Petitioner also contends that there is a near
total lack of procedural safeguards in the prevalent system of cyber
crime investigation. Police harassment of citizens, whether out of
intention or ignorance, is rampant, says the Petitioner.
The Bench after hearing his arguments issued notice and clubbed his plea along with other similar PIL pending before it.
At Perry4Law
Organisation and Perry4Law’s
Techno Legal Base (PTLB) we have been working in the
direction of spreading public awareness regarding cyber law on the
one hand and cyber crimes investigation on the other. PTLB is
managing the exclusive techno legal Centre
of Excellence for Cyber Crimes Investigation in India.
PTLB is also managing the exclusive techno legal
Cyber
and Hi-Tech Crimes Investigation and Training Centre (CHCIT) of
India. A special emphasis upon preventing and punishing
cyber crimes against women in India has been undertaken by PTLB.
PTLB has also launched a techno legal initiative
named Intelligence
Agencies and Law Enforcement Technology in India. The aim
of this initiative is to develop the techno legal capabilities of law
enforcement and intelligence agencies of India.
Intelligence
agencies and law enforcement agencies of India are
actively looking towards adoption and use of information and
communication technology (ICT) for their functioning.
Ambitious projects like Crime
And Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) Project Of India,
National
Intelligence Grid (Natgrid) Project Of India, National
Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) Of India, Central
Monitoring System (CMS) Project of India, National
Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) Of India, etc require
techno legal expertise. Law enforcement agencies of India must be
aware of both technical as well as legal requirements in order to
derive maximum benefits out of these projects.
If either the Supreme Court or the Centre needs our
assistance regarding formulating regulations and guidelines for
effective investigation of cyber crimes in India, Perry4Law and PTLB
would be glad to extend the same.
Source: CECSRDI.