You've got a mail !!!

At a time when forwarding of e-mails has become very common
among internet users, many users are unaware that they are at a high risk of
being caught in a legal tangle owing to the newly-inducted provisions in the
Information Technology Act.

As per the amendments which were notified last month, forwarding of
offensive e-mails as well as e-mails containing sexual contents would attract
jail term of between two to ten years and fine up to Rs 10 lakh.

As per Section 66 of the Act, sending of offensive content by means of a
computer or a communication device will attract provisions which are punishable.
Similarly, sending false information with the intention of causing annoyance,
inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation,
enmity, hatred or ill-will would face imprisonment of upto three years and fine.

Any mail send for the purpose of causing annoyance or inconvenience or to
deceive or mislead the addressee or recipient about the origin of such messages
would attract imprisonment.

Receiving a stolen computer or communication device with the knowledge that
it is stolen one will attract imprisonment of upto three years and fine of up to
Rs 1 lakh

Under Section 66(C), fraudulent use of the electronic signature, password
or any other unique identification feature of any other person, will face
imprisonment of upto three years and fine of upto Rs 1 lakh. Cheating by
personation using computer would attract three years’ imprisonment and fine of
upto Rs 1 lakh.

Capturing and sending of pictures of any person or `private area’ without
the person’s consent by violating his or her privacy shall be punishable with
imprisonment of upto three years or fine exceeding Rs 2 lakh.

Under Section 67, transmission of materials with sexually explicit
contents, including those pertaining to children, through computer would attract
imprisonment of five years and fine of Rs 10 lakh in case of first conviction.
In the event of second or subsequent conviction, it would be seven year
imprisonment and fine up to Rs 10 lakh.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Online edition of India's National
Newspaper
Monday, Nov 23,
2009

| Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Two youths arrested under IT Act

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The police have arrested two persons allegedly for making
changes to an e-mail carrying the photograph of a palatial mansion by adding a
caption stating that it belonged to Communist Party of India (Marxist) State
secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.
At a press conference here on Sunday, J. Sukumara Pillai, Deputy
Superintendent of Police, Cyber Police Station, said K.R. Manoj, 39, and
Karthik, 20, were arrested under the amended Section 66 A of the IT Act.
Manoj, of Bharanikavu, Kayamkulam, is a welding technician based in an
African country. Karthik, 20, a chartered accountancy student, is a resident of
East Gate, Ettumanoor, in Kottayam district.
Mr. Pillai said Manoj made additions to the mail received from one Dinesh
Nair based in Dubai and forwarded it to several mailing groups. The 20-year-old
Karthik also made additions to the mail and forwarded it to several people.
The mansion in the mail has been traced to Kunnamkulam in Thirssur district
and is owned by Pramosh, working in Saudi Arabia. Pramosh is the producer of a
television serial and some episodes of the serial were shot in the mansion.
The CPI(M) State secretary had taken up the issue with Director-General of
Police Jacob Punnose following information that the malicious mail was being
widely circulated. Mr. Punnose forwarded the complaint to the Cyber Police
Station.
Mr. Pillai said it was the first FIR registered by the station after the
amended Section 66A of the IT Act came into effect on October 27.