Has India officially become an E-Police state

It is ironic that the Ministry of Law, government of India and Moily finally gave away the freedom and security of India netizens to the hands of inexperienced officials. How the Law Ministry allowed these unconstitutional provisions to be passed.

CJ: Shayam Prasad

Sat, Oct 31, 2009 17:21:49 IST

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CYBER LAW in India has been doomed and this has brought the civil liberties of Indian citizens to a nadir. All this has happened due to lack of insight and capabilities of Indian legislation makers. The vested interests have overshadowed public interest and the sole cyber law of India has become an instrument for mass deprivation and grave suppression of cyber rights of Indians.

Despite the assurances of the law minister, Verappa Moily regarding further amendments in the Information Technology Act, 2008 (IT Act 2008), the same has been notified. This has officially given India the status of a chronic e-surveillance State. The unreasonable and unconstitutional e-surveillance and draconic police state powers conferred by the IT Act 2008 have become the law of the land.

Indians have ceased to hold some of the basic rights in cyberspace and the omnipresent state powers have doomed the Indian cyber sphere. The accountability is missing and the reasonableness deliberately scrapped off from the provisions contained in the IT Act 2008. Even basic level encryption that is absolutely essential for safe and secure cyber space transactions has been under scrutiny.

It is ironic that the Ministry of Law, government of India and Moily finally gave away the freedom and security of India netizens in the hands of inexperienced officials. How the Law Ministry allowed these unconstitutional provisions to be passed is still a bigger mystery?

The IT Act 2008 is a dark moment for the Indians wherein their rights have been curtailed on the one hand and the law has been made impotent on the other. Most of the offences have been made bailable and the deterrent has been lost forever. The misuse of the unbridled powers is very likely to happen as there are no safeguards and reasonable procedures that can prevent the same.

What would be the next step? Perhaps we would not be allowed to write articles like these in future as well if we keep on sleeping like we have been doing in the past.