CHAPTER I
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 there
under 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 for different
provision 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 instrument as defined in section 13 of the
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881(26 of 1881);
(b) a power-of-attorney as defined in section 1A of the
Powers-of-Attorney Act,1882(7 of 1882);
(c) a trust as defined in section 3 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882(2
of 1882);;
(d) a will as defined in clause (h) of section 2 of the Indian
Succession Act, 1925(39 of 1925), including any other testamentary disposition
by whatever name called;
(e) any contract for the sale or 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.Definitions.-- (1)
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a)
"access"
with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions means gaining entry
into, instructing 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 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
manipulations 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;
(i)
"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, data, computer
database or software;
(/) "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 performs logic, arithmetic, data storage and
retrieval, communication control and other functions;
(m)
"Controller" means the Controller of Certifying Authorities appointed
under sub-section (7) of section 17;
(n) "Cyber
Appellate Tribunal" means the Cyber Regulations Appellate Tribunal
established under sub-section (7) of section 48;
(o) "data"
means a representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts or
instructions which are being prepared or have been 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 ,microfilm or
computer generated microfiche or similar device;
(s) "Electronic Gazette" means official Gazette published
in the electronic form.
(t) "electronic
record" means data, record or data generated, image or sound stored,
received or sent in an electronic form, microfilm or computer generated
microfiche;
(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 data, text, images, sound, voice, codes,
computer programmes , software and databases, microfilm or computer generated
microfiche;
(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. Regulations 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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