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Chapter I : Preliminary
Chapter II : Digital Signature
Chapter III : Electronic Governance
Chapter IV : Attribution, Acknowledgment And Despatch Of Electronic Records
Chapter V : Secure Electronic Records And Secure Digital Signatures
ChapterVI : Regulation Certifying Authorities
Chapter VII : Digital Signature Certificates
Chapter VIII : Duties
Of Subscribers
Chapter IX : Penalties And Adjudication
ChapterX : The Cyber Regulations Appellate Tribunal
Chapter XI : Offences
Chapter XII : Network Service Providers Not Be Liable In Certain Cases.
Chapter XIII : Miscellaneous
The First Schedule : Amendment To The Indian Penal Code (See Section 91)(45 Of
1860]
The Second Schedule: Amendments To The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (See Section
92) [1 Of 1872]
The Third Schedule : Amendments To The Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 (See
Section 93) [18 Of 1891]
The Fourth Schedule : Amendment To The Reserve Bank Of India Act, 1934 (See
Section 94) [2 Of 1934]
CHAPTER I : PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent, commencement and application
(1) This Act may be called the Information Technology Act, 2000.
(2) It shall extend to the whole of India and, save as otherwise provided
in this Act, it applies also to any offence or contravention hereunder
committed outside India by any person.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may,
by
notification, appoint and different dates may be appointed provisions
of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement
of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the commencement of that
provision.
(4) Nothing in this Act shall apply to,-
(a) a negotiable instruments as defined in section 13 of the Negotiable
Instruments Act, 1881;
(b) a power-of-attorney as defined in section 1A of the Powers -of-Attorney
Act, 1882;
(c) a trust as defined in section 3 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882;
(d) a will as defined in clause (h) of section 2 of the Indian Succession
Act, 1925 including any other testamentary disposition by whatever name
called;
(e) any contract for the sate of conveyance of immovable property or any
interest in such property;
(f) any such class of documents or transactions as may be notified by
the Central Government in the Official Gazette.
2. Definition
(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "access" with its grammatical variations and cognate expression
means gaining entry into, instruction or communicating with the logical,
arithmetical, or memory function resources of a computer, computer system
or computer network;
(b) "addressee" means a person who is intended by the originator
to receive the electronic record but does not include any intermediary;
(c) "adjudicating officer" means an adjudicating officer appointed
under subsection
(1) of section 46;
(d) "affixing digital signature" with its grammatical variations
and cognate expressions means adoption of any methodology or procedure
by a person for the purpose of authenticating an electronic record by
means of digital signature;
(e) "appropriate Government" means as respects any matter,-
(i) enumerated in List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution;
(ii) relating to any State law enacted under List III of the Seventh Schedule
to the Constitution, the State Government and in any other case, the Central
Government;
(f) "asymmetric crypto System" means a system of a secure key
pair consisting of a private key for creating a digital signature and
a public key to verify the digital signature;
(g) "Certifying Authority" means a person who has been granted
a licence to issue a Digital Signature Certificate under section 24;
(h) "certification practice statement" means a statement issued
by a Certifying Authority to specify the practices that the Certifying
Authority employs in issuing Digital Signature Certificates;
(i) "computer" means any electronic magnetic, optical or other
high-speed data processing device or system which performs logical, arithmetic,
and memory functions by manipulation of electronic, magnetic or optical
impulses, and includes all input, output, processing, storage, computer
software, or communication facilities which are connected or related to
the computer in a computer system or computer network;
(j) "computer network" means the interconnection of one or more
computers through-
(i) the use of satellite, microwave, terrestrial line or other communication
media; and
(ii) terminals or a complex consisting of two or more interconnected computers
whether or not the interconnection is continuously maintained;
(k) "computer resource" means computer, computer system, computer
network, date, computer data base or software;
(l) "computer system" means a device or collection of devices,
including input and output support devices and excluding calculators which
are not programmable and capable of being used in conjunction with external
files, which contain computer programmes, electronic instructions, input
data and output data, that perform logic, arithmetic, data storage and
retrieval, communication control and other functions;
(m) "Controller" means the Controller of Certifying Authority
appointed under sub-section (1) of section 17;
(n) "Cyber Appellate Tribunal" means the Cyber Regulations Appellate
Tribunal established under sub-section (1) of section 48;
(o) "data" means a representation of information, knowledge,
facts, concepts or instructions which are being prepared or have prepared
in a formalised manner, and is intended to be processed, is being processed
or has been processed in a computer system or computer network, and may
be in any form (including computer printouts magnetic or optical storage
media, punched cards, punched tapes) or stored internally in the memory
of the computer;
(p) "digital signature" means authentication of any electronic
record by a subscriber by means of an electronic method or procedure in
accordance with the provisions of section 3;
(q) "Digital Signature Certificate" means a Digital Signature
Certificate issued under sub-section (4) of section 35;
(r) "electronic form" with reference to information means any
information generated, sent, received or stored in media, magnetic, optical,
computer memory, micro film, computer generated micro fiche or similar
device;
(s) "Electronic Gazette" means the Official Gazette published
in the electronic form;
(t) "electronic record" means date, record or data generated,
image or sound stored, received or sent in an electronic form or micro
film or computer generated micro fiche;
(u) "function", in relation to a computer, includes logic, control,
arithmetical process, deletion, storage and retrieval and communication
or telecommunication from or within a computer;
(v) "information" includes date, text, images, sound, voice,
codes, computer programmes, software and data bases or micro film or computer
generated micro fiche;
(w) "intermediary" with respect to any particular electronic
message means any person who on behalf of another person receives, stores
or transmits that message or provides any service with respect to that
message;
(x) "key pair" in an asymmetric crypto system, means a private
key and its mathematically related public key, which are so related that
the public key can verify a digital signature created by the private key;
(y) "law" includes any Act of Parliament or of a State Legislature,
Ordinances
promulgated by the President or a Governor, as the case may be, Regulation
made
by the President under article 240, Bills enacted as President's Act under
sub-clause
(a) of clause (1) of article 357 of the Constitution and includes rules,
regulations,
bye-laws and orders issued or made thereunder ;
(z) "licence" means a licence granted to a Certifying Authority
under section 24;
(za) "originator" means a person who sends, generates, stores
or transmits any
electronic message or causes any electronic message to be sent, generated,
stored
or transmitted to any other person but does not include an intermediary;
(zb) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this
Act;
(zc) "private key" means the key of a key pair used to create
a digital signature;
(zd) "public key" means the key of a key pair used to verify
a digital signature
and listed in the Digital Signature Certificate;
(ze) "secure system" means computer hardware, software, and
procedure that-
(a) are reasonably secure from unauthorised access and misuse;
(b) provide a reasonable level of reliability and correct operation;
(c) are reasonably suited to performing the intended functions; and
(d) adhere to generally accepted security procedures;
(zf) "security procedure" means the security procedure prescribed
under section
16 by the Central Government;
(zg) "subscriber" means a person in whose name the Digital Signature
Certificate
is issued;
(zh) "verify" in relation to a digital signature, electronic
record or public key,
with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions means to determine
whether-
(a) the initial electronic record was affixed with the digital signature
by the
use of private key corresponding to the public key of the subscriber;
(b) the initial electronic record is retained intact or has been altered
since
such electronic record was so affixed with the digital signature.
(2) Any reference in this Act to any enactment or any provision thereof
shall, in
relation to an area in which such enactment or such provision is not in
force, be
construed as a reference to the corresponding law or the relevant provision
of the
corresponding law, if any, in force in that area.
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