Through this process the government made India a safe heaven for cyber criminals. The cyber criminals are virtually free to do whatever they want because at best they can be caught and then have to be set free because Indian cyber law is toothless in this regard. Even these cyber criminals would be very difficult to nab as Indian law enforcement is not well trained to deal with cyber crimes.
India is confused regarding its cyber law and the same has resulted in cyberspace anarchy in India. The Indian political thinking is marred by gross confusion. There are growing incidences of exploitation of Indian cyberspace by cyber criminals and foreign powers.
Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India sent an open letter to the Government of India including the Prime Minister of India, President of India, Supreme Court of India, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, etc and brought to their attention the growing menace of cyber crimes in India.
Reacting immediately, the Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily announced the enactment of separate laws and creation of a specialised agency to deal with the menace of cyber crimes.
Cyber crimes in India are increasing in the absence of a strong and stringent cyber law i.e. Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000). The ICT Trends of India 2009 have proved that India has failed to enact a strong and stringent Cyber Law in India. On the contrary, the Information Technology Act 2008 (IT Act 2008) has made India a “safe heaven” for cyber criminals, say cyber law experts of India.
The problem seems to be multi-faceted in nature. Firstly, the cyber law of India contained in the IT Act, 2000 is highly deficient in many aspects. Thus, there is an absence of proper legal enablement of ICT systems in India. Secondly, there is a lack of cyber law training to the police, lawyers, judges, etc in India. Thirdly, the cyber security and cyber forensics capabilities are missing in India. Fourthly, the ICT strategies and policies of India are deficient and needs an urgent overhaul. Fifthly, the Government of India is indifferent towards the “ICT reforms” in India. This results in a declining ranking of India in the spheres of e-readiness, e-governance, etc. While International communities like European Union, ITU, NATO, Department of Homeland Security, etc are stressing for an enhanced cyber security and tougher cyber laws, India seems to be treading on the wrong side of weaker regulatory and legal regime, says Praveen Dalal.
At last, somebody in the government has shown some concern regarding the growing menace of cyber crimes in India. However, the task is difficult since we do not have trained lawyers, judges and police officers in India. However, at least a step has been taken in the right direction by the law minister of India.