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REAL WORLD AND CYBER CRIMES

__________________________________________________________________

Submitted to: Mr. GAURAV

Faculty of: Cyber Law

__________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________
_

Submitted by: Ashish Kumar Ranjan

Roll no. 75413
5th year (9th sem.)
__________________________________________________________

Chanakya National Law University, Patna.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The present project on REAL WORLD AND CYBER CRIMES has been able to get its final
shape with the support and help of people from various quarters. My sincere thanks go to all the
members without whom the study could not have come to its present state. I am proud to
acknowledge gratitude to the individuals during my study and without whom the study may not
be completed. I have taken this opportunity to thank those who genuinely helped me.

With immense pleasure, I express my deepest sense of gratitude to Mr. GAURAV - Faculty of
Cyber Law, Chanakya National Law University for helping me in my project. I am also thankful
to the whole Chanakya National Law University family that provided me all the material I
required for the project.

I have made every effort to acknowledge credits, but I apologies in advance for any omission
that may have inadvertently taken place. Last but not least I would like to thank Almighty whose
blessing helped me to complete the project.

Ashish Kumar Ranjan

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement .. 2

Research Methodology ... 4

Chapter 1

Introduction ....5

Chapter 2

Cyber Crimes .....8

Chapter 3

The Information Technology Act, 200014

Chapter 4

Case study ..18

Chapter 5

Prevention of Cyber Crime .. 24

Conclusion ....25

Bibliography ...................... 26
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Aims and Objectives:

The aim of the project is to present a detailed study of the contribution of Real World and
Cyber Crimes in contemporary world. The aim has been to identify role of Cyber Law in
elections in 21st century.

Scope and Limitations:

This project is based upon doctrinal method of research. This project has been done after a
thorough research based upon intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of the project. The researcher has
used primary source i.e. books and Internet.

Sources of Data:

The following secondary sources of data have been used in the project-

1. Books

2. Websites

3. Articles

Method of Writing:

The method of writing followed in the course of this research project is primarily analytical.

Mode of Citation:

The researcher has followed a uniform mode of citation throughout the course of this research
paper.
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CHAPTER - 1
INTRODUCTION

Cyber crime means any criminal activity in which a computer or network is the source, tool or target
or place of crime. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines cyber crimes as crimes committed
with the use of computers or relating to computers, especially through internet. Crimes involving use
of information or usage of electronic means in furtherance of crime are covered under the scope of
cyber crime. Cyber Crimes may be committed against persons, property and government. The
glares of radiant brains have overshadowed the artificial bodily shines. An un-ending pursuit for
excellence has stretched the dimensions of research to the limits in either direction. The modern
world has witnessed successful amalgamation of bright minds and brighter machines making
destinations unseen henceforth closer than ever before. Research is not restricted to working on a
fixed path. Science being a sympathetic mother do not deny those who attempted research in the
reverse direction. The corollary was emergence of an era of crimes better known as "Cyber
Crimes". The challenges before the inventors in the present century changed likewise to finding
means to restrict such crimes.1

The term cyber crime is a misnomer. This term has nowhere been defined in any statute /Act
passed or enacted by the Indian Parliament. The concept of cyber crime is not radically different
from the concept of conventional crime. Both include conduct whether act or omission, which cause
breach of rules of law and counterbalanced by the sanction of the state.

Before evaluating the concept of cyber crime it is obvious that the concept of conventional
crime be discussed and the points of similarity and deviance between both these forms may be
discussed.

Cyber crime is the latest and perhaps the most complicated problem in the cyber world. Cyber
crime may be said to be those species, of which, genus is the conventional crime, and where either

1
http://www.crime-research.org/articles/Dubey/ India: Cyber Crimes an unlawful act where in the computer is
either a tool or a target or both In Indian Legal Perspective.
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the computer is an object or subject of the conduct constituting crime.2 Any criminal activity that
uses a computer either as an instrumentality, target or a means for perpetuating further crimes
comes within the ambit of cyber crime3

A generalized definition of cyber crime may be unlawful acts wherein the computer is either a
tool or target or both4 The computer may be used as a tool in the following kinds of activity-
financial crimes, sale of illegal articles, pornography, online gambling, intellectual property crime,
e-mail spoofing, forgery, cyber defamation, cyber stalking. The computer may however be target for
unlawful acts in the following cases- unauthorized access to computer/ computer system/ computer
networks, theft of information contained in the electronic form, e-mail bombing, data didling,
salami attacks, logic bombs, Trojan attacks, internet time thefts, web jacking, theft of computer
system, physically damaging the computer system.

REASONS FOR CYBER CRIME:

Hart in his work The Concept of Law has said human beings are vulnerable so rule of law is
required to protect them. Applying this to the cyberspace we may say that computers are
vulnerable so rule of law is required to protect and safeguard them against cyber crime. The reasons
for the vulnerability of computers may be said to be:

1. Capacity to store data in comparatively small space- The computer has unique
characteristic of storing data in a very small space. This affords to remove or derive information
either through physical or virtual medium makes it much more easier.

2. Easy to access- The problem encountered in guarding a computer system from

unauthorised access is that there is every possibility of breach not due to human error but due to the
complex technology. By secretly implanted logic bomb, key loggers that can steal access codes,
advanced voice recorders; retina imagers etc. that can fool biometric systems and bypass firewalls
can be utilized to get past many a security system.

2
Kumar Vinod Winning the Battle against Cyber Crime.
3
Duggal Pawan - Cybercrime.
4
Nagpal R. What is Cyber Crime?
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3. Complex- The computers work on operating systems and these operating systems in turn are
composed of millions of codes. Human mind is fallible and it is not possible that there might not be
a lapse at any stage. The cyber criminals take advantage of these lacunas and penetrate into the
computer system.

4. Negligence- Negligence is very closely connected with human conduct. It is therefore very
probable that while protecting the computer system there might be any negligence, which in turn
provides a cyber criminal to gain access and control over the computer system.

5. Loss of evidence- Loss of evidence is a very common & obvious problem as all the data are
routinely destroyed. Further collection of data outside the territorial extent also paralyses this
system of crime investigation.
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CHAPTER - 2
CYBER CRIMES

Crimes involving use of information or usage of electronic means in furtherance of crime are
covered under the scope of cyber crime. Cyber Crimes may be committed against persons,
property and government. The common types of cyber crimes may be discussed under the
following heads.

1. ORKUT FAKE PROFILE CASES

Orkut.com is a very popular online community and social networking website. Orkut users can
search for and interact with people who share the same hobbies and interests. They can create and
join a wide variety of online communities. The profiles of Orkut members are publicly viewable.

The scenarios
1. A fake profile of a woman is created on Orkut. The profile displays her correct name and
contact information (such as address, residential phone number, cell phone number etc). Sometimes
it even has her photograph.
The problem is that the profile describes her as a prostitute or a woman of "loose character" who
wants to have sexual relations with anyone. Other Orkut members see this profile and start calling
her at all hours of the day asking for sexual favours. This leads to a lot of harassment for the victim
and also defames her in society.
2. An online hate community is created. This community displays objectionable information
against a particular country, religious or ethnic group or even against national leaders and historical
figures.
3. A fake profile of a man is created on Orkut. The profile contains defamatory information abut
the victim (such as his alleged sexual weakness, alleged immoral character etc)

The law Scenario 1: Section 67 of Information Technology Act and section 509 of the Indian Penal
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Code.
Scenario 2: Section 153A and 153B of Indian Penal Code.
Scenario 3: Section 500 of Indian Penal Code.

Who is liable?
Directors of Orkut as well as all those who create and update the fake profile.

2. EMAIL ACCOUNT HACKING

Emails are increasingly being used for social interaction, business communication and online
transactions. Most email account holders do not take basic precautions to protect their email
account passwords. Cases of theft of email passwords and subsequent misuse of email accounts are
becoming very common.

The scenarios
1. The victim's email account password is stolen and the account is then misused for sending out
malicious code (virus, worm, Trojan etc) to people in the victim's address book. The recipients of
these viruses believe that the email is coming from a known person and run the attachments. This
infects their computers with the malicious code.
2. The victim's email account password is stolen and the hacker tries to extort money from the
victim. The victim is threatened that if he does not pay the money, the information contained in
the emails will be misused.
3. The victim's email account password is stolen and obscene emails are sent to people in the
victim's address book.

The law Scenario 1: Sections 43 and 66 of Information Technology Act.

Scenario 2: Sections 43 and 66 of Information Technology Act and section 384 of Indian Penal
Code.
Scenario 3: Sections 43, 66 and 67 of Information Technology Act and section 509 of the Indian
Penal Code.

Who is liable?
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Scenario 1: Persons who have stolen the email account password and who are misusing the email
account.
Scenario 2: Persons who have stolen the email account password and who are threatening to
misuse it.
Scenario 3: Persons who have stolen the email account password and who are misusing the email
account.

3. CREDIT CARD FRAUD

Credit cards are commonly being used for online booking of airline and railway tickets and for
other ecommerce transactions. Although most of ecommerce websites have implemented strong
security measures (such as SSL, secure web servers etc), instances of credit card frauds are
increasing.
The scenario
The victim's credit card information is stolen and misused for making online purchases (e.g. airline
tickets, software, subscription to pornographic websites etc).

The law
Sections 43 and 66 of Information Technology Act and section 420 of Indian Penal Code.

Who is liable?
All Persons who have stolen the credit card information as well as those who have misused it.

4. ONLINE SHARE TRADING FRAUD

With the advent of dematerialization of shares in India, it has become mandatory for investors to
have demat accounts. In most cases an online banking account is linked with the share trading
account. This has led to a high number of online share trading frauds.

The scenario
Scenario 1: The victim's account passwords are stolen and his accounts are misused for making
fraudulent bank transfers.
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Scenario 2: The victim's account passwords are stolen and his share trading accounts are misused for
making unauthorised transactions that result in the victim making losses.

The law
Scenario 1: Sections 43 and 66 of Information Technology Act and section 420 of Indian Penal
Code.
Scenario 2: Sections 43 and 66 of Information Technology Act and section 426 of Indian Penal
Code.

Who is liable?
Scenario 1: All persons who have stolen the account information as well as those who have
misused it.
Scenario 2: All persons who have stolen the account information as well as those who have
misused it.

5. TAX EVASION AND MONEY LAUNDERING

Many unscrupulous businessmen and money launderers (havala operators) are using virtual as
well as physical storage media for hiding information and records of their illicit business.

The scenario
Scenario 1: The suspect uses physical storage media for hiding the information e.g. hard drives,
floppies, USB drives, mobile phone memory cards, digital camera memory cards, CD ROMs, DVD
ROMs, iPods etc.
Scenario 2: The suspect uses virtual storage media for hiding the information e.g. email
accounts, online briefcases, FTP sites, Gspace etc.

The law
Scenario 1: Depending upon the case, provisions of the Income Tax Act and Prevention of Money
Laundering Act will apply.
Scenario 2: Depending upon the case, provisions of the Income Tax Act and Prevention of Money
Laundering Act will apply.
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Who is liable?
Scenario 1: The person who hides the information.
Scenario 2: The person who hides the information. If the operators of the virtual storage facility
do not cooperate in the investigation, then they also become liable.

6. SOURCE CODE THEFT

Computer source code is the most important asset of software companies. Simply put, source code
is the programming instructions that are compiled into the executable files that are sold by
software development companies.
As is expected, most source code thefts take place in software companies. Some cases are also
reported in banks, manufacturing companies and other organisations who get original software
developed for their use.

The scenario
Scenario 1: The suspect (usually an employee of the victim) steals the source code and sells it to a
business rival of the victim.
Scenario 2: The suspect (usually an employee of the victim) steals the source code and uses it as a
base to make and sell his own version of the software.

The law
Scenario 1: Sections 43, 65 and 66 of the Information Technology Act, section 63 of the
Copyright Act.
Scenario 2: Sections 43, 65 and 66 of the Information Technology Act, section 63 of the
Copyright Act.

Who is liable?
Scenario 1: The persons who steal the source code as well as the persons who purchase the stolen
source code.
Scenario 2: The persons who steal the source code.
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7. THEFT OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Most business organisations store their sensitive information in computer systems. This information
is targeted by rivals, criminals and sometimes disgruntled employees.
The scenario
Scenario 1: A business rival obtains the information (e.g. tender quotations, business plans etc)
using hacking or social engineering. He then uses the information for the benefit of his own
business (e.g. quoting lower rates for the tender).
Scenario 2: A criminal obtains the information by hacking or social engineering and threatens to
make the information public unless the victim pays him some money.
Scenario 3: A disgruntled employee steals the information and mass mails it to the victim's rivals
and also posts it to numerous websites and newsgroups.

The law
Scenario 1: Sections 43 and 66 of the Information Technology Act, section 426 of Indian Penal Code.
Scenario 2: Sections 43 and 66 of the Information Technology Act, section 384 of Indian Penal Code.
Scenario 3: Sections 43 and 66 of the Information Technology Act, section 426 of Indian Penal Code.

Who is liable?
Scenario 1: The persons who steal the information as well as the persons who misuse the stolen
information.
Scenario 2: The persons who steal the information as well as the persons who threaten the victim and
extort money.
Scenario 3: The disgruntled employee as well as the persons who help him in stealing and
distributing the information.
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CHAPTER 3
THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT 2000

In India the Information Technology Act 2000 was passed to provide legal recognition for
transactions carried out by means of electronic communication. The Act deals with the law
relating to Digital Contracts, Digital Property, and Digital Rights Any violation of these laws
constitutes a crime. The Act prescribes very high punishments for such crimes. The
Information Technology (amendment) Act, 2008(Act 10 of 2009) , has further enhanced the
punishments. Life imprisonment and fine upto rupees ten lakhs may be given for certain classes
of cyber crimes. Compensation up to rupees five crores can be given to affected persons if
damage is done to the computer, computer system or computer network by the introduction of
virus, denial of services etc.(S. 46(1-A)). Sections 65-74 the Act specifically deal with certain
offences, which can be called Cyber Crimes

1. Tampering with any computer source code used for a computer, computer programme,
computer system or computer network, is punishable with imprisonment up to three years, or
with fine which may extend up to two lakh rupees, or with both. "Computer source code" means
the listing of programmes, computer commands, design and layout and programme analysis of
computer resource in any form.(S.65)

2. Hacking with computer system is to be punished with imprisonment up to three years, or

with fine which may extend up to five lakh rupees, or with both.(S. 66)

3. Sending offensive or false information through computer or a communicative device is

punishable with imprisonment up to three years and with fine.(S.66A)

4. Receiving or retaining stolen computer resource or communication device is an offence

punishable with imprisonment up to three years and fine up to one lakh or with both. (S.66B).The
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same punishment is prescribed for fraudulent use of electronic signature, password etc. of any
other person (S. 66C) and for cheating using computer, cell phone etc. (S.66D)

5. Capturing Transmitting or publishing the image of a private area of any person without
consent is punishable with imprisonment up to three years and with fine up to two lakhs or with
both.(S. 66E)

6 Punishment for Cyber terrorism may extend to imprisonment for life. (S.66F)

7. Publishing transmitting information which is obscene in electronic form. shall be

punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may
extend to three years and with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees and in the event of a
second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may
extend to five years and also with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees.( S. 67).

8 Publication and transmission of containing sexually explicit act or conduct is to be

punished with imprisonment up to five years and fine up to ten lakh rupees and for second or
subsequent conviction with imprisonment for a term up to seven years and fine up to ten lakh
rupees.(S. 67A) The same punishment is prescribed for child pornography. (S. 67B)

9. Penalty for Misrepresentation Whoever makes any misrepresentation to, or suppresses any
material fact from, the Controller or the Certifying Authority for obtaining any license or Digital
Signature Certificate, as the case may be. Shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which
may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both. (S. 71)

10. Penalty for Breach of Confidentiality and Privacy Any person who has secured access to
any electronic record, book, register, correspondence, information, document or other material
without the consent of the person concerned discloses such electronic record, book. register,
correspondence, information, document or other material to any other person shall be punished
with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to
one lakh rupees, or with both.( S. 72)

11. Punishment for disclosure of information in breach of contract is imprisonment For a

term up to three years or with fine up to five lakh rupees or with both.( S. 72A)
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12. Punishment for publishing Digital Signature Certificate false in certain particulars. (1)
No person shall publish a Digital Signature Certificate or otherwise make it available to anyother
person with the knowledge that (a) the Certifying Authority listed in the certificate has not issued
it; or (b) the subscriber listed in the certificate has not accepted it; or (c) the certificate has been
revoked or suspended, Violation of the above provision is punishable with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both.
(S. 73)

13. Publication for Fraudulent Purpose. Whoever knowingly creates, publishes or otherwise
makes available a Digital Signature Certificate for any fraudulent or unlawful purpose shall be
punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may
extend to one lakh rupees, or with both.( S. 74.)

In addition to the prescribed punishments Any computer, computer system, floppies, compact
disks, tape drives or any other accessories related to the crime shall be liable to confiscation.( S.
76.) S. 75of the Act makes it clear that the provisions of this Act are applicable to any offence or
contravention committed outside India by any person irrespective of his nationality if the act or
conduct constituting the offence or contravention involves a computer, computer system or
computer network located in India.

The Information Technology Act 2000 was undoubtedly a welcome step at a time when there was no
legislation on this specialised field. The Act has however during its application has proved to be
inadequate to a certain extent.

The various loopholes in the Act are-

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1. The hurry in which the legislation was passed, without sufficient public debate, did not really
serve the desired purpose -5

Experts are of the opinion that one of the reasons for the inadequacy of the legislation has been the
hurry in which it was passed by the parliament and it is also a fact that sufficient time was not given
for public debate.

2. Cyberlaws, in their very preamble and aim, state that they are targeted at aiding e-commerce,
and are not meant to regulate cybercrime6

Mr. Pavan Duggal holds the opinion that the main intention of the legislators has been to provide for
a law to regulate the e-commerce and with that aim the I.T.Act 2000 was passed, which also is one of
the reasons for its inadequacy to deal with cases of cyber crime.

At this point I would like to express my respectful dissent with Mr. Duggal. I feel that the above
statement by Mr. Duggal is not fundamentally correct. The reason being that the preamble does state
that the Act aims at legalising e-commerce. However it does not stop here. It further amends the
I.P.C., Evidence Act, Bankers Book Evidence and RBI Act also. The Act also aims to deal with all
matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. It is a cardinal rule of interpretation that text
should be read as a whole to gather the meaning. It seems that the above statement has been made
in total disregard of this rule of interpretation. The preamble, if read as a whole, makes it very clear
that the Act equally aims at legalising e-commerce and to curb any offences arising there from.

3.Cyber torts-

The recent cases including Cyber stalking cyber harassment, cyber nuisance, and cyber defamation
have shown that the I.T.Act 2000 has not dealt with those offences. Further it is also contended that
in future new forms of cyber crime will emerge which even need to be taken care of. Therefore
India should sign the cyber crime convention. However the I.T.Act 2000 read with the Penal Code is
capable of dealing with these felonies.

5
Duggal Pawan - Is this Treaty a Treat?
6
Ibid.
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CHAPTER 4
CASE STUDY7

1. Pune Citibank Mphasis Call Center Fraud8

It is a case of sourcing engineering. US $ 3,50,000 from City bank accounts of four US customers
were dishonestly transferred to bogus accounts in Pune, through internet. Some employees of a
call centre gained the confidence of the US customers and obtained their PIN numbers under the
guise of helping the customers out of difficult situations.. Later they used these numbers to
commit fraud. Highest security prevails in the call centers in India as they know that they will
lose their business. The call center employees are checked when they go in and out so they can
not copy down numbers and therefore they could not have noted these down. They must have
remembered these numbers, gone out immediately to a cyber caf and accessed the Citibank
accounts of the customers. All accounts were opened in Pune and the customers complained that
the money from their accounts was transferred to Pune accounts and that's how the criminals
were traced. Police has been able to prove the honesty of the call center and has frozen the
accounts where the money was transferred.

7
Source: http://delhicourts.nic.in/ejournals/CYBER%20LAW.pdf
8
Operational fraud case 2005.
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2. State of Tamil Nadu Vs Suhas Katti9

The case related to posting of obscene, defamatory and annoying message about a divorcee
woman in the yahoo message group. E-Mails were also forwarded to the victim for information
by the accused through a false e-mail account opened by him in the name of the victim. The
posting of the message resulted in annoying phone calls to the lady in the belief that she was
soliciting.

Based on a complaint made by the victim in February 2004, the Police traced the accused to
Mumbai and arrested him within the next few days. The accused was a known family friend of
the victim and was reportedly interested in marrying her. She however married another person.
This marriage later ended in divorce and the accused started contacting her once again. On her
reluctance to marry him, the accused took up the harassment through the Internet.

On the prosecution side 12 witnesses were examined and entire documents were marked as
Exhibits. The court relied upon the expert witnesses and other evidence produced before it,
including witnesses of the Cyber Cafe owners and came to the conclusion that the crime was
conclusively proved and convicted the accused. This is considered as the first case in Tamil
Nadu, in which the offender was convicted under section 67 of Information Technology Act 2000
in India.

3.The Bank NSP Case

The Bank NSP case is the one where a management trainee of the bank was engaged to be
married. The couple exchanged many emails using the company computers. After some time the
two broke up and the girl created fraudulent email ids such as "Indian bar associations" and sent
emails to the boy's foreign clients. She used the banks computer to do this. The boy's company lost
a large number of clients and took the bank to court. The bank was held liable for the emails sent
using the bank's system.

4. SMC Pneumatics (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. Jogesh Kwatra10

9
AIR 2004 SC 205.
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In this case, the defendant Jogesh Kwatra being an employee of the plaintiff company started
sending derogatory, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, filthy and abusive emails to his employers as
also to different subsidiaries of the said company all over the world with the aim to defame the
company and its Managing Director Mr. R K Malhotra. The plaintiff filed a suit for permanent
injunction restraining the defendant from sending derogatory emails to the plaintiff. The plaintiff
contended that the emails sent by the defendant were distinctly obscene, vulgar, abusive,
intimidating, humiliating and defamatory in nature and the aim of sending the said emails was to
malign the high reputation of the plaintiffs all over India and the world.

The Delhi High Court restrained the defendant from sending derogatory, defamatory, obscene,
vulgar, humiliating and abusive emails either to the plaintiffs or to its sister subsidiaries all over
the world including their Managing Directors and their Sales and Marketing departments. Further,
Hon'ble Judge also restrained the defendant from publishing, transmitting or causing to be
published any information in the actual world as also in cyberspace which is derogatory or
defamatory or abusive of the plaintiffs. This order of Delhi High Court assumes tremendous
significance as this is for the first time that an Indian Court assumes jurisdiction in a matter
concerning cyber defamation and grants an injunction restraining the defendant from defaming
the plaintiffs by sending defamatory emails.

5. Parliament Attack Case11

Bureau of Police Research and Development at Hyderabad had handled some of the top cyber
cases, including analyzing and retrieving information from the laptop recovered from terrorist,
who attacked Parliament. The laptop which was seized from the two terrorists, who were gunned
down when Parliament was under siege on December 13 2001, was sent to Computer Forensics
Division of BPRD.

The laptop contained several evidences that confirmed of the two terrorists' motives, namely the
sticker of the Ministry of Home that they had made on the laptop and pasted on their ambassador
car to gain entry into Parliament House and the fake ID card that one of the two terrorists was

10
Suit No. 1279/2001. This case is still pending.
11
Mohd. Afzal v. State, MANU/DE/1026/2003.
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carrying with a Government of India emblem and seal. The emblems (of the three lions) were
carefully scanned and the seal was also craftly made along with residential address of Jammu and
Kashmir. But careful detection proved that it was all forged and made on the laptop.

6. Andhra Pradesh Tax Case

The owner of a plastics firm in Andhra Pradesh was arrested and Rs. 22 crore cash was recovered
from his house by the Vigilance Department. They sought an explanation from him regarding the
unaccounted cash. The accused person submitted 6,000 vouchers to prove the legitimacy of trade,
but after careful scrutiny of vouchers and contents of his computers it revealed that all of them
were made after the raids were conducted. It was revealed that the accused was running five
businesses under the guise of one company and used fake and computerized vouchers to show
sales records and save tax. Thus the dubious tactics of the prominent businessman from Andhra
Pradesh was exposed after officials of the department got hold of computers used by the accused
person.

7. Sony.Sambandh.Com Case

A complaint was filed by Sony India Private Ltd, which runs a website called www.sony-
sambandh.com, targeting Non Resident Indians. The website enables NRIs to send Sony products
to their friends and relatives in India after they pay for it online. The company undertakes to
deliver the products to the concerned recipients.

In May 2002, someone logged onto the website under the identity of Barbara Campa and ordered
a Sony Colour Television set and a cordless head phone. She gave her credit card number for
payment and requested that the products be delivered to Arif Azim in Noida. The payment was
duly cleared by the credit card agency and the transaction processed. After following the relevant
procedures of due diligence and checking, the company delivered the items to Arif Azim. At the
time of delivery, the company took digital photographs showing the delivery being accepted by
Arif Azim .The transaction closed at that, but after one and a half months the credit card agency
informed the company that this was an unauthorized transaction as the real owner had denied
having made the purchase.
22 | P a g e

The company lodged a complaint for online cheating at the Central Bureau of Investigation which
registered a case. The matter was investigated into and Arif Azim was arrested. Investigations
revealed that Arif Azim, while working at a call centre in Noida gained access to the credit card
number of an American national which he misused on the company's site. The CBI recovered the
colour television and the cordless head phone. The court convicted Arif Azim for cheating under
Section 418, 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code this being the first time that a cyber crime
has been convicted. The court, however, felt that as the accused was a young boy of 24 years and
a first-time convict, a lenient view needed to be taken. The court therefore released the accused on
probation for one year.

The judgment is of immense significance for the entire nation. Besides being the first conviction
in a cyber crime matter, it has shown that the Indian Penal Code can be effectively applied to
certain categories of cyber crimes which are not covered under the Information Technology Act
2000. Secondly, a judgment of this sort sends out a clear message to all that the law cannot be
taken for a ride.

8. Nasscom v. Ajay Sood & Others

The plaintiff in this case was the National Association of Software and Service Companies
(Nasscom), India's premier software association. The defendants were operating a placement
agency involved in head-hunting and recruitment. In order to obtain personal data, which they
could use for purposes of head-hunting, the defendants composed and sent e-mails to third parties
in the name of Nasscom.

The High court recognised the trademark rights of the plaintiff and passed an injunction
restraining the defendants from using the trade name or any other name deceptively similar to
Nasscom. The court further restrained the defendants from holding themselves out as being
associates or a part of Nasscom. The court appointed a commission to conduct a search at the
defendants' premises. Two hard disks of the computers from which the fraudulent e-mails were
sent by the defendants to various parties were taken into custody by the local commissioner
appointed by the court. The offending e-mails were then downloaded from the hard disks and
presented as evidence in court. It became clear that the defendants in whose names the offending
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e-mails were sent were fictitious identities created by an employee on defendants' instructions, to
avoid recognition and legal action. On discovery of this fraudulent act, the fictitious names were
deleted from the array of parties as defendants in the case. Subsequently, the defendants admitted
their illegal acts and the parties settled the matter through the recording of a compromise in the
suit proceedings. According to the terms of compromise, the defendants agreed to pay a sum of
Rs1.6 million to the plaintiff as damages for violation of the plaintiff's trademark rights. The
court also ordered the hard disks seized from the defendants' premises to be handed over to the
plaintiff who would be the owner of the hard disks. The Delhi HC stated that even though there is
no specific legislation in India to penalize phishing, it held phishing to be an illegal act by
defining it under Indian law as "a misrepresentation made in the course of trade leading to
confusion as to the source and origin of the e-mail causing immense harm not only misused."
The court held that, to the consumer but even to the person whose name, identity or password is act
of phishing as passing off and tarnishing the plaintiff's image.

This case achieves clear milestones: It brings the act of "phishing" into the ambit of India laws
even in the absence of specific legislation; It clears the misconception that there is no" damages
culture" in India for violation of IP rights; This case reaffirms IP owners' faith in the Indian
judicial system's ability and willingness to protect intangible property rights and send a strong
message to IP owners that they can do business in India without sacrificing their IP rights.
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CHAPTER 5

PREVENTION OF CYBER CRIME

Prevention is always better than cure. It is always better to take certain precaution while operating
the net. A should make them his part of cyber life. Saileshkumar Zarkar, technical advisor and
network security consultant to the Mumbai Police Cyber crime Cell, advocates the 5P mantra for
online security: Precaution, Prevention, Protection, Preservation and Perseverance. A netizen
should keep in mind the following things-

1.to prevent cyber stalking avoid disclosing any information pertaining to oneself. This is as good
as disclosing your identity to strangers in public place.

2.always avoid sending any photograph online particularly to strangers and chat friends as there
have been incidents of misuse of the photographs.

3.always use latest and up date anti virus software to guard against virus attacks.

4.always keep back up volumes so that one may not suffer data loss in case of virus contamination

5.never send your credit card number to any site that is not secured, to guard against frauds.

6.always keep a watch on the sites that your children are accessing to prevent any kind of
harassment or depravation in children.
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7.it is better to use a security programme that gives control over the cookies and send information
back to the site as leaving the cookies unguarded might prove fatal.

8.web site owners should watch traffic and check any irregularity on the site. Putting host-based
intrusion detection devices on servers may do this.

9.use of firewalls may be beneficial.

CONCLUSION

Capacity of human mind is unfathomable. It is not possible to eliminate cyber crime from the cyber
space. It is quite possible to check them. History is the witness that no legislation has succeeded in
totally eliminating crime from the globe. The only possible step is to make people aware of their
rights and duties (to report crime as a collective duty towards the society) and further making the
application of the laws more stringent to check crime. Undoubtedly the Act is a historical step in the
cyber world. Further I all together do not deny that there is a need to bring changes in the
Information Technology Act to make it more effective to combat cyber crime. I would conclude
with a word of caution for the pro-legislation school that it should be kept in mind that the
provisions of the cyber law are not made so stringent that it may retard the growth of the industry
and prove to be counter-productive.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Ratanlal and Dhirajlal, Indian Penal Code, Wadhwa and Co., Nagpur, Ed. 2001.
Mittal D.P., Law of Information Technology (Cyber Law), 1st Ed., New Delhi,
Taxmann Allied Services Pvt. Ltd., 2000.
Taxmann, The Information Technology Act 2000, Taxmann Publication, New Delhi.
Singh Yatindra, Cyber Laws, 1st Ed., New Delhi, universal Law Publication, 2003.
M. P. Jain, Indian Constitutional Law, Wadhwa and Co., Nagpur, Ed. 2003.
Dr. Joga Rao, S.V, Current Issues in Criminal Justice and Medical Law : A Critical
Focus, Eastern Law House, Calcutta, 1999.

Journals:

Journal of The Indian Law Institute Vol. 44 2002, Indian Information Technology Act
2000: Criminal Prosecution Made easy for Cyber Psychos- By Devashish Bharuka.
Central Indian Law Quaterly 2003, Freedom of Speech and Pornography By Ankita
Lal.
Lex Times Annual Issue 2001, Jurisdiction on Internet, By Shamnad Basheer.
Dataquest Jan 2000, A Legal Vaccum By- Srivasta Krishna.
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Websites:

www.cyberlawindia.com
www.indlaw.com
www.naavi.org
www.indialawsite.com
www.hindu.com
www.legalserviceindia.com