Author: Pragati Singh, Ist year of B.A.,LL.B(Hons) from Galgotias University.
Introduction
India has now become a digital world, in the hands of which digital operations have helped people to carry out their digital activities but on the other hand given a new face to crime using various forms around the world. Cyber crime is one of the most dangerous weapons to commit online crime. It undermines personal identity and online self promotion as a means of defamation.
What is Defamation?
Defamation means “an injury or harm to the reputation of the person”. In other way we say that “property once can lost be regained but the reputation of a man once lost cannot be recovered”. It can be in any form of communication of a false statement either written or oral about other that harms their reputation and constitute a tort or crime.
Defamation can be mainly classified by the way of ‘Slander or Libel’ that one can sue. Here libel can addressed to eye that is a false published or written statement by damaging someone’s reputation while slander addressed to ear that is the crime of damaging someone’s reputation by false spoken statement.
Cyber Defamation
The term Defamation is used under Section 499 of Indian Penal Code, 1860. Cyber defamation is a new concept but it clearly defines a person’s name with a new machine.
How cyber bullying defraud a person’s identity with the computers online. If anyone sends or publishes a false statement about another person online or by email, the person having such kind of defamatory statement with the intention of defaming the other person who made the statement may be like a cyber crime.
Cyber bulling is widespread and irreversible as the information is public, accessible to all. It affects the well-being of society as a whole , one of the most committed crimes. Cyber crime is not limited to time or boundaries which means that a person sitting in another corner of the world.
Defamation can be caused through audio, video or written text in digital space that would amount to online defamation. Such charge has to be caused using communication device as provided in section 2(1) (ha) of the Information Technology Act 2000 which includes that “any cell phones or any other personal digital assistance used to communicate or transmit any other text, video, audio or image.
From archaic times, this defamation practice has been considered one of the most damages of human dignity. “In article 19(2) of the constitution, defamation is the reason why the constitutional limitation on right to freedom of speech and expression could be legally imposed”. The law of humiliation does not infringe on the right to freedom of expression guaranteed under article 19(1) (a). It is retained by article 19(2) as one the purposes for which appropriate limit may be imposed.
Here are some basic elements of defamation action that can be summarized as
The plaintiff has to show that they are publishing the defamatory statements.
The plaintiff must show that the defamation relates to this.
The plaintiff must show that the information is disparaging.
The case of libel or slander per se, the plaintiff must have suffered damage.
Defenses that can be raised against defamation action
Of Truth
Of Fair comment: people are allowed to comment on the facts, in order to determine the number of comments, to be honest and unsuspecting, for the motivation of true evil.
Of Privileges: In some cases the courts have ruled that the policy and the convenience of the claim that a person who is exempt from sanction for the publication of the defamatory words these things represents the benefits, the benefit that may not necessary for example, statements in the house of commons or in the courts of the country.
Of Innocent Dissemination: The last defense in that the potential is very important in the cyber libel.
Law on Cyber Defamation in India
In India, as per section 499 of Indian penal code it regulates the libel law, but it should also be noted that the law has been extended to “electronics mode”.
Section 469 of Indian penal code (forgery with intent to harm body) has been amended by the Information Technology Act 2000, including e-mail, forged and is now in general “whoever commits forgery intending that the document forged should harm the reputation of someone and is done purposely shall be punished with imprisonment of up to three years of age as well as fine can also be charged.
As per section 500 of Indian penal code it provides that “any person held liable under section 499 will punished imprisonment of two years or fine or both.
As per section 503 of Indian penal code it deals with the criminal coercion with the help of electronic means in order to damage one’s reputation in the community.
Suggestion to improve the laws related to Cyber Defamation
It's recommended to have an independent cyber-crime investigation team, who are subordinate to the Central Bureau Investigation, and the creation of the most obedient to the central government as well as in particular, to deal with cyber related crimes, including cyber defamation.
In each of the districts in India, there must be a police station, with the rushes in there, which is headed by a investigation officers. Information technology law that help them deal with the criminals more quickly.
The legal system may also play an important role in special cyber-courts that will be created and a judge of special technical skills, able to preside over a court of justice. So, there is a need to train out of the court staff, law enforcement officers quickly and efficiently, in order to solve the case related to crimes.
Cyber Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction has the power or authority of a court to hear and determine the reasons and decide a case before a court or by the power it take into account to raised them, but when it came to certain amount of jurisdiction. The context of cyberspace, this becomes in zealous part of law.
Indian and International conventional over cyber jurisdiction
The 2001 convention on cyber crime also known as the Budapest Convention is the first international treaty to address the issues that are being discussed on the internet and a cyber crime that the national laws, to cooperate between our countries and the expansion and improvement of research methods.
However, countries such as Brazil and India who refuses to adopt the convention on the ground that they were involved in its development, however the internal started in cyber crime cases in India to reconsider its position regarding the convention, since 2018.
Conclusion
An intense amount of details and an easy way to upload it on the Internet, making it one of the most important sources of slander. After conducting a study on this topic, we can say that this is the scenario in India, in relation to the law, there is not a suitable method in the US , cyber-libel. In addition, the libel laws should be flexible enough to be applicable to all media. Because of the libel laws in the Internet age, it can be said that it is impossible to apply the principle in the course of the 18th-and 19th-century building, this question will pop up on the Internet in the 21st century.
The old laws will be in effect, and it seems like more and more the case, and laws that provide a better and more modern, the application of the laws of defamation on the Internet.
All Internet user shall be solely liable for defamation on the Internet, irrespective of whether they are a publisher, e-mail addresses of the owners or operators, in signs and in one or more than one. Or a business organization that defines the signs on its web sites, are especially at risk.
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