As 2009 has dawned, it is time for an overview of the major developments in Indian cyber law in the year gone by. Various important events took place in the area of cyber legal jurisprudence in India in 2008.

The year 2008 was also one in which various cyber crimes occupied centrestage. Various instances of identity theft and phishing were reported, though under-reported figures far outstripped the reported instances. Amid all this, Indian cyber law continued to appear toothless.

Meanwhile, as internet 2.0 became more prominent in India, social networking cyber crimes, including misuse of personal information posted on such sites was reported frequently. The misuse of personal information by tampering and amending the same, has grown tremendously.

The year was also the year of cyber terrorism. Whether it was Bangalore or Delhi, the bomb blasts were preceded by e-mails announcing the impending acts. It was the year when cyber terrorists became far more adventurous. The inability of the law enforcement agencies to nab cyber criminals and take effective action exposed the inadequacies of our laws.

Cyber terrorism once again came to the fore in India in the form of the Mumbai attacks. The terrorists were extremely technology savvy, and were using satellite phones with impunity.

It was the year, when pushed by the Mumbai attacks, the government swung into action and got the amendments to the Information Technology Act, 2000 passed in both the houses of Parliament. Clearly, the factum of the passage of the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008 in both the houses without discussion, demonstrates the truth of the dictum that history repeats itself.

In 2000, the IT Act was passed without any discussion in both the houses of Parliament. The same was repeated in India in December 2008. As a result, rather than dealing with cyber terrorism in a comprehensive manner, the IT Act amendments have only got one provision on cyber terrorism. There appears to be no sign of any lessons learnt from the Mumbai attacks. These amendments are now waiting for the President’s assent.

It was also the year in which network service providers started feeling the heat of the process of law. Various litigations were filed insisting upon them to disclose third party information rendered and made available in their computer systems. A network service provider got a taste of the result of giving wrong subscriber information to the law enforcers.

The year brought home the truth that if network service providers are negligent about giving correct subscriber information to the law enforcement agencies, they need to face potential legal consequences, both civil and criminal. This is all the more so, as under the IT Act, 2000, these providers are made liable for all third party data and information made available by them. However, they can exit from their liability, provided they are able to prove two conditions. The first condition is that the network service provider has to prove that he had no knowledge of any contravention of law. The second condition is that the provider has to prove that despite due diligence, it could not prevent the commission of an offence or contravention of law.

In 2008, India organised big international events pertaining to IT and internet. In February 2008, the Delhi meeting of the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names And Numbers (Icann) was held. Towards the end of December 2008, the government organised the Internet Governance Forum in Hyderabad. The forum is of tremendous significance in terms of giving a common platform to all stakeholders of the internet to discuss issues pertaining to internet law and policy.

It was also a landmark year for judgements given under the Information Technology Act. 2000.

In February 2008, L Prakash, an orthopedic surgeon, was sentenced to life on the charges of online obscenity. In May, the Delhi High Court gave a landmark judgment in the Baazee.com case. The CEO of the portal was arrested in 2004 for hosting a message relating to the DPS MMS on its website.

In this case, the government levied criminal charges and filed a charge sheet. This was challenged before the Delhi High Court, which declined to quash the cyber criminal charges of online obscenity and directed the accused to face criminal trial. The matter is now pending in the Supreme Court. The common result of this judgment is that principles of law for electronic information, as enshrined in the Act, have been upheld.

The year 2008 was an adventurous year as far as cyber law jurisprudence in India is concerned. The cyber legal developments that took place will provide the foundation for subsequent growth and development of Indian cyber law jurisprudence in 2009. It will be interesting to see how this year deals with the challenges pertaining to the internet, cyber space and the world wide web.