India Strengthened Its Victimology Jurisprudence

The long awaited legal reforms in India have finally got attention of the government of India. The government has passed the Criminal Procedure Amendment Act 2009. According to experts like Praveen Dalal, the amendments have brought very pertinent and much needed legal reforms in the criminal jurisprudence of India. The best part about the recent amendments is that they have strengthened and reinforced the “Victimology Jurisprudence” in India, says Dalal.

The Centre on Thursday notified a significant amendment that will allow a victim to file an appeal against a court order in a move which can empower the common man who often fails to get justice because of inefficiency or corruption of prosecuting agencies. The new amendments to Code of Criminal Procedure -- that have been kept in abeyance for almost a year -- have also laid down procedures for the protection of rape victims seeking punishment for their tormentors.

The code gives victims the right to appeal against a court order acquitting an accused, or convicting the accused of a lesser offence. Under the amended Section 372 of CrPC, the victim will not need the permission of any law enforcement or prosecuting agency to appeal a court order. Currently, an appeal can be made only if the prosecution so decides -- a lacuna which allows the rich and the powerful who can influence the prosecution to get away, literally, with murder.

Public outrage over the acquittal of those accused of the murder of Jessica Lal and in other similar high-profile cases in the Capital and other big cities have lately pushed the government to appeal controversial orders. But these instances pale into insignificance when seen against the innumerable instances where prosecution has refused to go the whole length to help victims of crimes.

"The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2008, except Sections 5, 6 and 21 (b) have been notified and they will come into force on December 31," home minister P Chidambaram said. The amended CrPC stipulates that an arrested person shall be examined immediately by a medical officer to protect the interests of the accused.

Another significant amendment is meant to encourage rape victims to report their oppressors. It has been laid down that the statement of a rape victim shall be recorded at her residence and, as far as practical, by a woman police officer in the presence of the victim's parents or guardian, or a social worker.

Trial in a rape case should be completed within two months as far as possible and provision has been made for video recording of statements or confessions. An important amendment has been incorporated in a new Section 357A making it mandatory for state governments to prepare a scheme for providing funds for compensating the victim of a crime or her dependents.

The government has, however, kept on hold certain provisions of CrPC that relate to the power of a police officer to make an arrest and the power of the court to grant or refuse adjournments. These amendments include barring police from arresting an accused for an offence that carries a maximum punishment of seven years without first issuing him/her a notice of appearance. The amendment to Section 309, aimed at speeding up trials, disallowed the granting of adjournments on flimsy grounds.

A statement issued by the home ministry said, "Representations were received against these provisions. Hence, they were referred to the Law Commission. The Law Commission held consultations and submitted its report... It could not be introduced in the last session of Parliament and will be introduced in the budget session. Pending the passage of the amendment bill and pending a debate in Parliament, it has been decided not to notify these three provisions for the present."

SOURCE: TOI

States Have Important Role To Play To Fight Terrorism In India

The initiatives of Home Ministry of India to streamline and strengthen the National Security and Internal Security of India are praiseworthy. But they seem to be too ambitious to achieve in the absence of both expertise as well as a good Centre-States relationship. It is a bad policy to impose law enforcement and intelligence agencies operations upon the States as they may be “unconstitutional” as per the Constitution of India. In the absence of good legal framework in this regard, the tussle between Centre and States may increase in the future.

The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) proposed by Union home minister P Chidambaram would solve the problem of intelligence integration and dissemination that we discovered during our enquiry into the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai.

Even after a year, there is no indication that the states have understood how to manage intelligence flowing from the Centre. A centralised clearing house to receive, digest and disseminate intelligence with clear directives for ground action is necessary.

However, Indian NCTC’s charter appears to be to be far more ambitious than the American NCTC, created under the US law in 2004. In the US, the NCTC has only a ‘strategic operational planning’ charter including assigning roles and responsibilities to lead US agencies. It does not have the power to ‘direct the execution of any resulting operations’. The Indian version reportedly wants to be singularly responsible for ‘preventing, containing and responding to a terrorist attack’ through intelligence, investigation and operations. Some central organs are to come under the NCTC fold that will oversee the functions of intelligence agencies. All these have to be achieved by 2010-end. This is a gigantic and controversial task.

There is no mention how this will be achieved at the state level. US security architecture allows units such as the FBI, emergency relief bodies and state police to operate according to their legal charter with ground-level coordination by the department of homeland security (DHS).

Beefing up resistance capacity of our state police is not enough, they also have to be in-sync with the thinking on anti-terrorist tactics, especially as our state police officials get rotated every three years. US achieved this by setting up Homeland Security State & Local Intelligence Community of Interest that constantly consult each other.

Our municipal and private bodies that control critical infrastructure and disaster relief have to be brought on board. DHS did this by decentralising public awareness and participation through Community Response Exercises under National Incident Management System with participation of local bodies, private sector and hundreds of Fema’s emergency relief centres under National Infrastructure Protection Plan. If we have to fight terrorism, some of these ideas have to be implemented.

SOURCE: ECONOMIC TIMES

Parliamentary Committee on Defense Not Satisfied With Indian Security

Pakistan is building 69 new bunkers on our Western borders, Chinese Army transgressing our Eastern Boundary in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh almost every second day as if on picnic and both these countries now openly joining hands against India, should have been sufficient enough reasons for Ministry of Defence (MOD) in India to wake up and take immediate corrective measures. Not so if the current report on functioning of MOD, tabled by the Parliamentary Committee on Defense in Parliament on 16 Dec 09 is taken into account.

Kudos to this body of Indian legislatures, who cutting across party lines have taken serious note of this lackadaisical attitude of people in power concerning India’s security. The report points out that while the three wings of Indian Armed Forces are working on the ‘Long Term Perspective Plan 2012-2027’ taking the ‘11th Five Year Defence Plan 2007-2012’ as their base, it is shocking that the Indian political masters and the bureaucrats straddling the MOD, have not yet approved this five year plan, even though it is three years over date.

Based on Kargil Committee recommendations the Indian Government in 2003 had approved the plan of setting up a federal Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) under MOD whose job was to oversee the functioning of the Intelligence Agencies of the three services, at the same time it was required to coordinate between the other central and state intelligence agencies. Even after six years have gone by, no effort has been made to make this operational.

Another decision aimed at better functioning of the MOD and timely decision making was that the three service headquarters will be fully integrated with the MOD and Armed Forces officers will also be posted on joint secretary and additional secretary posts which currently remains the exclusive domain of the bureaucrats. This proposal is also gathering dust.

We in India never tier off in telling all and sundry that we are a regional power in Asia on the way to become a global power. Nevertheless all the three wings of the Armed Forces are still functional on the organizations evolved prior to Second World War days. It is pathetic that our MOD has not thought it prudent till date to appoint an expert committee to recommend the reorganization of the three services keeping in view the modern technology and passage of time. This has been brought out by this Parliamentary Committee. Similarly when Chinese Navy is making stupendous accretions and China is busy ringing India with its operational bases in Pakistan, Myanmar, and SriLanka we in India continue to have critical shortages of manpower and equipment in our only Tri Service Andaman and Nicobar Command.

What is most shocking is that in 2003, based on the recommendations of the GOM, then NDA Government had decided to implement the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) System in India also. This system is being followed in America, Britain, France and 67 other countries. The only rider was that before implementation, a political consensus will be obtained. The CDS system is required to coordinate the functioning of the three services which tend to pull in different directions and bring in synergy in them. What is most important is a common doctrinal platform.

Case in point is that currently Army is harping on the concept of Cold Start so that the surprise is not lost to Pakistan as it happened in Operation PARAKRAM in 2002.For this They want Air Force to provide them with close air support. Air Force is telling Army that they should use their own means like helicopter gunship’s and not burden Air Force initially with this role as they want to degrade the overall capability of Enemy Air Force. Both schools of thoughts have merit but who decides which one to adopt? This is where CDS comes in.

Another most important function of the CDS system is that it provides a single window military advice opportunity to the Government. CDS also resolves the procurement planning requirement of the three services thereby ensuring optimal usage of the Defense Budget. The Parliamentary Committee has also taken note of large scale shortage of officers in all the three Services. Need for establishing National Defense University has also been highlighted. This Committee has done a yeoman’s job, now it is for the people of India and Political class in power at the helm, who must pressurize the power that be to implement these recommendations at the earliest.

SOURCE: MERINEWS

Weak Cyber Law Of India Is Resulting In Increased Cyber Crimes In India

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. Even cyber law enforcement is a big challenge in India.

Although, the IT Act 2000 was not deterrent enough to prevent cyber crimes in India, yet with the IT Act 2008 the things have become worst. The IT Act 2008 made almost all the offences and cyber crimes “bailable” It means that even after committing hacking or practically any other and all cyber crimes in India, there is no deterrent effect to prevent them.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, by making the offences and cyber crimes “bailable” India has made its cyberspace a “free zone” and “safe heaven” for cyber criminals and cyber offenders.

He says that now even after committing hacking in India a person would be entitled to “bail” as a matter of right. There is nothing that prevents such cyber criminals from committing cyber crimes in India in the absence of a deterrent law.

It is clear that by succumbing to “industrial lobbying” the government of India has done great damage to the national security of India and cyber security of India.

There is nothing that would prevent India from becoming the cyber crime heaven of the World in these circumstances unless a suitable amendment in the IT Act 2000 is made as soon as possible, says Praveen Dalal.

The worst part is that India has also enhanced e-surveillance to further aggravate the problem. The netizens are not safe from cyber crimes and now even the State would infringe their Human Rights and Fundamental Rights. The increased e-surveillance along with unregulated censorship powers has made India cyber law an instrumentality of cyberspace exploitation of netizens rights in India.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Experts Doubt Constitutional Validity Of National Investigation Agency Act 2008 Of India

Center-State relationships are very delicate and are governed by the provisions of Constitution of India. The Constitution has conferred a special status to States as they are not “Inferior” to the Center. They are governed by constitutional provisions similar to the Center, say experts.

Recently the Goa police did not send details of the Diwali-eve bomb blast investigations to the National Investigating Agency (NIA) set up in 2008 to investigate terror-related crimes in the country. The Goa police had bypassed the NIA and sent updates of the Oct 16 investigations to officials in the ministry of home affairs. Now the Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has questioned the NIA reported decision to take over two terror cases in the State. Contending that such interference by the Central agencies would hurt the federal system of the country, Balakrishnan said the State government would examine the legal aspect of NIA’s decision. This has proved the apprehensions raised by experts like B.S. Dalal previously.

Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are virtually governed by no law in India. The government of India (GOI) never took pain to provide a viable and constitutionally sound legal framework for these institutions in India. The net result is that most of them are still governed by colonial and outdated laws. Surprisingly, this scenario has not been challenged in the Indian courts. But the situation may change very soon and the Centre-State Disputes regarding this aspect may be agitated before the courts in India.

The Constitution of India has mandated that law enforcement is a matter of “State List”. The Center cannot legislate on this crucial area. If the Center makes a law in this regard, the same would disturb the harmony between the Center and States relations. So does India has any constitutionally valid legal framework for law enforcement and/or intelligence agencies?

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law, “With the enactment of National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 some steps have been taken in this regard. However, the viability and constitutionality of this Act is yet to be checked. When the Center encroaches upon the powers of the States, constitutional crisis and disputes are bound to arise. Realising the seriousness of the issue, Perry4Law has provided a “10 Point Legal Framework for Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies in India” to the Government of India”.

The government of India has still to enact suitable laws in this crucial direction. In the absence of the same, there are great chances that instances of lack of mutual understanding and cooperation between NIA and State police force may increase.

In fact, to a great extent the State police may be well within its rights and power to ignore the mandates of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 due to constitutional issues. It would be prudent for the Central government to give a serious thought to this ignored aspect that may raise numerous “Constitutional Issues” in the future.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Perry4Law Suggested A Centralised ICT Control Mechanism For Intelligence Agencies Of India

National Security issues of India are too complicated to be resolved immediately. The problem has further been aggravated in the absence of a suitable ICT Policy for National Security issues of India. The sardonic failure of the e-governance projects in India has put at rest the hollow claims of Indian government to use ICT for national security purposes.

Even the ICT Trends of India 2009 have shown that Indian efforts regarding streamlining legal, judicial, administrative, law enforcement, intelligence agencies functions, etc through use of ICT have received serious setbacks in the year 2009. There is also little hope that the same would be rejuvenated in the year 2010. On what basis the government of India (GOI) would use ICT for national and internal security of India is still a big question.

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law, “Intelligence agency of a country plays an important role in its internal and external security. There must be a “Centralised ICT Control System” to govern intelligence agencies if there are more than one. If there are numerous intelligence agencies working for different government departments, there is a possibility of lack of coordination and inadequate and inappropriate information sharing. Nothing can be more beneficial than a “Centralised ICT Control Centre” for the Indian National and Internal Security.

The government of India has still to enact suitable laws governing intelligence agencies on the one hand and establish a centralised “Control System” for them on the other. India must forsake the practice of achieving targets on paper only and must be honest with and accountable to its commitments. Let us hope that GOI would come up with effective and authoritative national security measures regarding the suggestions provided by experts in this regard.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

E-Governance In India Has Failed

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is the core strength of business community of India. The same has, however, failed to find a place in the national policies and strategies of India and in governmental dealings. The ICT Trends of India 2009 showed the naked truth of the contrary claims of Government of India. Despite negative reports and progress in India, the Indian government is loyal to the “India Shining Syndrome” rather than concentrating upon real and effective ICT projects management in India.

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law “The Government and Indian Bureaucrats need to change their mindset and stress more upon outcomes and services rather than mere ICT procurement. India needs a services-based approach that is not only transparent but also backed by a more efficient and willing Government. Presently the Bureaucrats and Government of India are in a “resistance mode” towards novel and effective e-governance policies and strategies and they are merely computerising traditional official functions only. This is benefiting neither the Government nor the citizens and is resulting in wastage of thousands of crores of public money and UNDP/World Bank grants amount”.

The continued apathy, mismanagement and lack of accountability has finally shown its impact. The World Bank refused to operationalise the e-governance support project known as “E-Bharat” without its active management role in the same. The World Bank did not agree to the framework for implementation of E-Bharat as it was insisting on certain conditions to manage the project. For instance, against a hands-on project management approach being favoured by the World Bank, India was pushing for a programme mode where assistance could be linked to targets or milestones.

The expectations of World Bank are justified as there is a complete failure of e-governance projects in India barring few exceptions. In the absence of transparency and accountability, investing Crores of rupees in Indian e-governance projects is not a wise and profitable option. The World Bank must actively engage in day to day management functions of the projects it is sponsoring or funding.

In fact, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT, in its latest report noted that e-Bharat project was “in trouble”. Following the Government's decision not to establish a dedicated Special Purpose Vehicle (national e-governance agency), a requirement insisted on by the World Bank earlier, the Bank had advocated a newer look to be adopted inter-alia suggesting termination of the preparation of the E-Bharat Project. With the management controls in its hand, the World Bank may continue this much needed e-governance project of India. It would be good for Indian common man if other fund providing agencies like UNDP also take similar steps so that e-governance projects are not eaten up by corruption of Indian officials.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Education Reforms In India Are Urgently Required

Educational reforms in India are urgently required. However, the progress in this regard is far from satisfactory despite the best efforts of Ministry of Human Resource Development through Union Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal. The position is worst when it comes to online education in India. The educational reforms in India are victim of “Political Nepotism”, say experts like Praveen Dalal. Unless Government of India adopts an open mind approach and utilise the expertise of knowledgeable people, Indian educational reforms would always remain in doldrums. In the below mentioned wonderful article (See article for full version), M D Nalapat has provided some of the reasons for failures of Indian educational sector reforms.

Today, the immense regulatory framework of Indian education has spawned corruption and sloth. Academic freedom is non-existent, and attempts at excellence and innovation are slapped down. Many within the regulatory agencies have enriched themselves, giving sanction to undeserving institutions on payment of bribes. It is such people who are resisting change.

In India selection to key committees depends on personal friendships rather than on professional expertise. The National Security Advisory Board is an example. The NSAB was set up to provide advice on security issues, and meets each month (if not more often).The members get to stay in 5-star hotels and travel Business Class on aircraft, and each meeting costs the Indian taxpayer millions of rupees. However, very little enlightenment comes out of such deliberations, for the reason that almost all the members have been chosen because of their personal connections. Each National Security Advisor fills the NSAB with friends and admirers, thus repaying old favours and generating new ones. Those who are honest in their criticisms, or are not favourites at the darbars of the powerful, get ignored. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has followed precedent in ensuring that several of his old friends have gotten accommodated in key committees An example is the Education Committee set up under the chairmanship of a close friend of the Prime Minister, Dr Yash Pal.

Unless the Prime Minister breaks out of the sociology that confines itself only to friends and admirers, and looks for talent from elsewhere than within such ranks, he will not succeed in creating the “education revolution” favoured by Union Minister. Kapil Sibal is trying to see that the all-powerful (and in many cases corrupt) regulatory bodies that control accreditation to medical and technical education in India are either removed or have their powers diluted. This stand has put him at odds with several politicians and officials, who are each making millions of rupees each year because of the vast powers the regulatory bodies have. However, unless he succeeds, Indian higher education will continue to be bereft of excellence, except in a few pockets such as the Indian Institutes of Technology. Another necessary step is to create a framework for foreign universities to come to India. At present, nearly 300,000 students go from India to other countries to study each year, at a cost of $12 billion. They seek the flexibility and excellence of institutions in the US, the EU and elsewhere. Should Kapil Sibal succeed in convincing the Prime Minister to back him in his efforts at getting foreign universities to set up campuses in India, then India could become a major international education provider, earning rather than losing billions of dollars each year. Standards in many parts of India are far better than in countries such as Australia (where racial attacks on Indian students has multiplied), but the complex web of controls that is shackling Indian education needs to be lifted. Education Minister Sibal is seeking just that, and hopefully he will succeed

Every student in India needs to have an education that is modern and which gives her or him skills that are useful in a modern economy. This includes familiarity with computers and the internet. Hopefully, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will look beyond the narrow circle of his friends and admirers to identify those who can suggest education reforms. Hopefully, he will ensure that his government puts in place such reforms. For that is the only way to generate more Indian Nobel Prizes, more cutting-edge R&D in India, so that the country develops an education sector as modern as its Information Technology industry.

National Security Of India Must Be Strengthened

National security of India is a crucial aspect that has been ignored by Indian politicians for long. The catastrophic consequences of the same are very apparent in the form of terrorists’ attacks and cyber terrorism in India. Time has arisen when we must rejuvenate the national security and internal security of India. The recent proposal by the Home Minister to strengthen Indian National Security and Internal Security must be strictly adhered to by the Indian government. It should not merely be another proposal with no actual implementation and execution.

National security of India has recently received a rejuvenation attempt by the Government of India (GOI). This is good news at a time where the national security issues are grossly ignored in India. The national security of India and internal security of India are suffering not only on the count of lack of political will but also due to absence of suitable policies and strategies.

The ICT Trends of India 2009 have also proved that India has failed on the fronts of Cyber law of India, Cyber Terrorism in India, E-Courts in India, E-Learning in India, Unique Identification Project of India, Serious Frauds and White Collar Crimes, National Security Issues, Crime Reporting by Media, Internet Banking Frauds, Cyber Security of Defense Forces, Cyber War in India, E-Surveillance in India, etc.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “Indian approach in this regard is not sensible at all. We should not invest thousands of crores of Indian rupees into security projects that can be manipulated and sabotaged in minutes. Rather we should first analyse the weaknesses and security holes of the same before buying and installing it.

After all security of a Nation is proper application of “common sense” rather than wasting unlimited amount of money. Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) of India, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI), Rs 800 crores centralised facility to control phone tapping activities in India, etc are some of the projects that require common sense application before their implementation. They have to be tested in a “limited environment” before using them in a full fledged manner, says Praveen Dalal.

It seems Indian security initiatives have to be holistically analysed and suitably applied. The Indian security infrastructure and workforces are not in good shape and require rejuvenation. We need a techno-legal security workforce and not personnel who do not have even the basic facilities and technological means and knowledge. The terrorist attacks have really shattered the deep pervasive false sense of security present in the Indian government mentality. We have to think and act against such internal and external threats by going beyond a "political debate". We can fool ourselves by bragging about India’s capabilities and victories against terrorism and cyber terrorism and keep on facing future attacks and bear the traumatic casualties. Alternatively, we must accept our weaknesses against such attacks and take constructive steps to anticipate, prevent and counter such future terrorist and cyber terrorism activities, warns Praveen Dalal.

With a new ray of hope shown by the recent stress upon national security of India we can expect some good results in this direction. However, India is famous for mere assurances and proposals without actually implementing them. Similarly, due to faulty management and policies even the implemented projects have failed in the past. Let us hope that this time India would do the proper homework before starting an initiative that it cannot implement and run.

Why Indian Government Does Not Curb Terrorism?

In this wonderful article, the author has cited many comprehensive reasons why Indian government fails to tackle terrorism and cyber terrorism in India. This is a must read article for all concerned. The author has also provided some good suggestions as well to tackle the nuisance of terrorism and cyber terrorism in India.

The Truth Behind Failure Of CAT Exams

In a wonderful investigative article the truth behind the failures of CAT online entrance test have been analysed. This is a must read for all concerned. It is clear that Indian online education system is very bad in shape. On the one hand we lack technical capabilities whereas on the other hand cyber criminals are on a ride without any deterrent law to desist them from attacking the server and other computer resources.

Online education requires both state of the art technologies as well as effective laws. Even if we have all the favorable condition still there may be technical glitches or legal wrangles. But what would happen if we have inadequate technical capabilities coupled with criminal friendly cyber laws? The net result would be a demise of the e-learning and online education capabilities. The same is happening in India due to myopic insight and criminal friendly nature of government of India.

Indian ICT Trends 2009 By Perry4Law and PTLB

Perry4Law and PTLBTM/SM have been providing ICT Trends In India, Cyber Law Trends in India, Cyber Security Trends in India, Cyber Forensics Trends in India, etc for long. This is the current ICT Trends of India 2009 by Perry4Law.

The trends report is covering topics like Cyber law of India, Cyber Terrorism, E-Courts in India, E-Learning in India, Unique Identification Project of India, Serious Frauds and White Collar Crimes, National Security Issues, Crime Reporting by Media, Internet Banking Frauds, Cyber Security of Defense Forces, Cyber War in India, etc.

According to the report India once again failed to cater the growing contemporary demands of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and their legal and judicial applications. The predominant reason for the same seems to be lack of political will to achieve the needful.

The report concludes that “Indian efforts for streamlining use of ICT have further degraded from 2008. The year 2009 saw some major ICT pitfalls and bad decisions were made by the GOI. Overall the year 2009 can be said to be “Blunder ICT Year” of India”.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

India Needs Good Broadcasting Laws And Regulations

A task force for broadcasting authority of India has been constituted by the government of India. This announcement has been made after the recent constitution of a committee by the Delhi High Court. There is an emergent need of formulating suitable policies and regulations in this regard. This requirement has been avoided by the government of India for a long period of time.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “The Delhi High Court has recently constituted a committee to formulate guidelines for crime reporting by the media. He informs that similar proposals were mooted by the government of India as well but they were strongly resisted by the media community. Now with the present direction the path for suitable guidelines and law in this regard has become clear.

It seems the government of India is avoiding suitable regulations for media in India. The stress upon self-regulation for the media is a pointer in this regard. The standards of media reporting in India are not only declining but they at times makes national security issues more complicated. While the government is extensively engaged in e-surveillance of the electronic media yet when it comes to print and traditional broadcasting media it has a soft corner for them. This would not be good in the interest of India.

The task force must provide suitable policies and strategies regarding broadcasting laws of India. If the purpose of the task force is to merely advance self regulation, then the Parliament of India must step in to formulate proper laws as soon as possible.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Task Force For Broadcasting Authority of India

Union Information and Broadcasting minister Ambika Soni has recently told that a task force has been set up for the proposed Broadcasting Authority of India, which would look into issues related to media and broadcasting.

Broadcasting Authority would deal with issues pertaining to electronic media, broadcasting, spectrum and taxation, she said, adding that views and opinions of all the stakeholders are being sought in this regard. Soni favoured self regulation by electronic media instead of any regulation enacted by the government. This announcement came after the recent constitution of a committee by the Delhi High Court.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “The Delhi High Court has recently constituted a committee to formulate guidelines for crime reporting by the media. He informs that similar proposals were mooted by the government of India as well but they were strongly resisted by the media community. Now with the present direction the path for suitable guidelines and law in this regard has become clear.

It seems the government of India is avoiding suitable regulations for media in India. The stress upon self-regulation for the media is a pointer in this regard. The standards of media reporting in India are not only declining but they at times makes national security issues more complicated. While the government is extensively engaged in e-surveillance of the electronic media yet when it comes to print and traditional broadcasting media it has a soft corner for them. This would not be good in the interest of India.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Internet Banking In India: Its Risks, Challenges And Solutions

The recent growths of credit cards and ATM frauds have raised certain crucial security questions before the banks and the regulatory authorities. According to experts India has not only weak cyber law but also inadequate Internet banking security procedures. This is resulting into hacking of bank account holder’s accounts and siphoning of their money.

Internet banking is a very important aspect of Indian banking industry. Internet banking not only provides instant banking facilities but it also confers mobility to the account holders. However, cyber security of internet banking infrastructure of India is the need of the hour. Instances of theft of money through hacking of accounts of the accounts holders are fast becoming a trend in India.

This is partly due to the ignorance of the accounts holders and partly due to the weak cyber laws of India. The account holders are increasingly targeted for phishing attacks that result in loosing of sensitive banking information.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, the Information Technology Act 2008 has made most of the cyber crimes and cyber offences “bailable”. India has made its cyberspace a “free zone” and “safe heaven” for cyber criminals and cyber offenders. He says that now even after committing hacking in India a person would be entitled to “bail” as a matter of right. There is nothing that prevents such cyber criminals from committing cyber crimes in India in the absence of a deterrent law.

This has resulted in an increased spate of cyber crimes including hacking of the e-mail IDs of the Internet banking users and stealing of their money.

Further, India has also become one of the most endemic surveillance societies of the World. Confidential information is already vulnerable and with the proposed Indian plans of installing key loggers at cyber cafes, the same would exclude the use of cyber cafes for these purposes. Although cyber cafés are not a good place to transact confidential matters yet with a poor Internet penetration in India this may still happen, says Dalal.

With a weak cyber law, lack of cyber security awareness and increasing e-surveillance initiatives in India, Internet banking disputes are bound to increase in India. The government is least bothered about these issues and ultimately the account holders would have to bear the financial losses.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Committee To Formulate Guidelines For Crime Reporting In India Constituted

The Delhi High Court has constituted a committee to formulate guidelines for crime reporting by the media. Retired Chief Justice J.S.Verma would be its head. The committee will comprise of one member from the National Broadcasters’ Association, one from Press Council of India, representatives from media, Delhi Police and the petitioner.

The court was hearing a public interest petition filed by an NGO seeking action against police officials for allegedly leaking to the media confessional statements made by suspected terrorists in the Batla House case. Two terrorists and a police inspector were killed in that shootout Sep 19 last year.

Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law, has welcomed this step of the Delhi High Court. He also stressed upon the importance of “whistleblower’s protection” as well. He informs that similar proposals were mooted by the government of India as well but they were strongly resisted by the media community. Now with the present direction the path for suitable guidelines and law in this regard has become clear.

While the move is in the right direction, the government of India must reconcile the conflicting interests of right to information on the one hand and regulation of media reports on the other. The committee would consider this aspect in mind while formulating the guidelines.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Decisions Management Of Cyber Security Issues In India

Cyber security of India is a neglected field. Even when we talk and think about this crucial aspect, we tend to adopt an approach that presupposes that procurement of technology is the best solution. We do not analyse the pros and cons of any technological deployment.

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law “The cyber security capabilities of a nation is as strong as is its weakest link. If the weakest link is exploited, even the most robust and secure security systems can be collapsed in minutes.

For instance, the Pentagon has fixed a security breach that allowed insurgents to hack into data feeds from pilotless "drone" aircraft that provide real-time video of war zones. Iraqi militants are using a 25.95 US dollars software named SkyGrabber to shoot down highly sophisticated US drones. SkyGrabber helps in capturing the drone feeds in order to neutralise the same. This means we have to apply common sense first before relying upon and procuring technology worth of millions, says Dalal.

Recently, it has been reported that the Chinese intelligence agencies may have planted computer malware and broken into the headquarters of 33 Corps, the army formation looking after most of the north-eastern border with China. The break-in included the planting of trojan viruses which may have given Chinese operatives remote access to the computer network at the 33 Corps headquarters in Sukhna, near Siliguri, West Bengal.

The defense forces of India must pay adequate attention towards securing strategic IT assets from hacking and other cyber attacks. Equally important is the requirement of protecting critical ICT infrastructure of India.

Indian approach in this regard is not sensible at all. We should not invest thousands of crores of Indian rupees into security projects that can be manipulated and sabotaged in minutes. Rather we should first analyse the weaknesses and security holes of the same before buying and installing it, suggests Praveen Dalal.

It seems security of a nation is proper application of “common sense” rather than wasting unlimited amount of money. Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS), Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI), Rs 800 crores centralised facility to control phone tapping activities in India, etc are some of the projects that require common sense application before their implementation.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Competition Regime Getting Stronger Worldwide

Anti-competitive practices are a bane to free consumer society. They induce arbitrary elements in the fair business dealing for the personal gain of the some. This has necessitated a competition law regime all over the world.

With the growing use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) all over the World, competition law has been invoked times again to redress consumer’s grievances and to uphold their interests. Even the most powerful and influential ICT services and product providers have to comply with the requirements of competition law regime.

Anti-trust actions have been taken against many ICT giants of the world from time to time. In a recent development, Microsoft has bowed to pressure from the European Commission over the dominance of its web browser product Explorer, making a legally binding promise to give consumers a choice of browsers when installing software to surf on the internet. The company has also pledged to disclose coding information which will make it easier for consumers to use word-processing and spreadsheet products from rival companies on its operating systems.

Efforts have also been taken to strengthen Indian Competition law regime. Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law informs that Indian Parliament has recently passed a Bill to facilitate transfer of anti-competition cases pending before the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) of India to the Competition Appellate Tribunal. While the newly constituted counterpart of MRTPC, known as Competition Commission of India (CCI), has started functioning it has not settled any case. Thus the Tribunal had not been given adequate work, necessitating an ordinance for transfer of work from the MRTPC.

Similarly, the US Federal Trade Commission has recently sued Intel alleging that the computer chip-making giant used anti-competitive practices to maintain its dominance. The suit claimed that Intel coerced computer makers not to buy rival chips and redesigned software to stunt the performance of non-Intel computer processors. Such actions were part of a systematic campaign to "put the brakes on superior competitive products that threatened" Intel's market share, the FTC said.

The move comes just one month after Intel agreed to pay its main rival Advanced Micro Devices $1.25 billion to settle that company's claims against it. But Intel still faces antitrust complaints from European Union regulators and from New York state.

Although anti trust and anti competition actions are increasing, yet they have to be more rigorous and frequent to advance the rights of the consumers.

Foreign Law Firms Cannot Legally Practice In India In Any Form

The Bombay High Court has decided that legal practice by foreign firms in India, in any form whatsoever, is illegal. With this International firms Ashurst, Chadbourne & Parke and White & Case have lost the long-running case since 1995 against the Lawyers' Collective. The judgement and reasoning of the court has not yet been published but lawyers for both sides have confirmed the decision.

Interestingly, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had granted permissions to some foreign firms to run liaison offices. With the present judgement this permission has been quashed and any further doing of business by these firms in India would be illegal. The court also held that the practice of law under the Advocates Act in India encompasses all forms of practice, not just litigation practice in court but also corporate practice, advisory practice, M&A and the whole works.

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law, “This decision is a landmark decision regarding opening of legal sector for foreign law firms. Till now lawyers in India were opposing any such move. However, the government of India was considering the option of opening of non-litigation segments of law for foreign firms. With the present judgement, the matter has been settled unless the Supreme Court of India decides otherwise”.

This is a great victory for the law firms of India. It is crucial to note that lawyers doing individual litigation practice in Indian courts are not going to be affected in any case as the foreign firms were trying to establish laws firms with primarily non-litigation work. The matter would be definitely taken up before the Supreme Court of India through appeal and till that time we have to keep our fingers crossed.

Is Google Playing With Privacy And Anonymity Of the Users?

Eric Schmidt recently commented that “If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines--including Google--do retain this information for some time. And it's important, for example, that we are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made available to the authorities."

Reacting sharply Asa Dotzler, community development manager for Mozilla recommended use of Microsoft's Bing search engine as an alternative to Google. The fact is that Bing does have a better privacy policy than Google. According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law, “There is no doubt that the search results and quality of Bing is fast catching up with the Google search engine. Bing is also better than Google if wonderful services of onion routing softwares like TOR are used. Google is not that good with the TOR services, says Praveen Dalal”.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation made a similar observation. "Unfortunately, Schmidt's statement makes it seem as if Google, a company that claims to care about privacy, is not even concerned enough to understand basic lessons about privacy and why it's important on so many levels -- from protection against shallow embarrassments to the preservation of freedom and human rights".

Google says such criticism takes Schmidt's remarks out of context. This may be true or not. However, privacy and anonymity issues have started to haunt Google. Regarding the anonymity issues, developers have warned that a bug in the latest version of the Google Chrome browser could leak the identity of users trying to surf anonymously. The flaw means that domain-name queries are made by a user's local network even when Chrome is configured to used a third-party proxy.

This presents a serious risk for the users of the services such as Tor, as their DNS data and the little anonymity they have with Tor is leaked outside and in the clear," according to an advisory published Monday on the Full-Disclosure mailing list.

There seems to be some confusion about what's causing the bug. According to the Full-Disclosure advisory, a feature known as DNS pre-fetching, which is enabled by default, is responsible for the loss of anonymity. But some developers participating in this discussion in a forum for Google's open-source Chromium browser say the vulnerability exists even when pre-fetching is disabled. Google said that they are looking into the matter and fix the issue. The spokesman of Google also said that this issue would only potentially impact a very small number of people who make use of anonymity services like Tor.

It seems Google is not interested in providing good privacy and anonymity to its users and this would ultimately result in shifting to other search engines, browsers and online services. The users who believe in greater privacy, security and anonymity must use a combination of Firefox with the Tor, choosing the Torbutton option for Firefox.

SOURCE: GROUND NEWS

US and Russia Wish To Curb Cyber War

Cyber War and Cyber Terrorism are matters of grave concern to all countries. Equally important are the issue pertaining to cyber security of defense forces in India. These issues are important as they strike at the very root of the critical ICT infrastructure protection in India. While countries like US and Russia are negotiating to limit the impact of cyber wars, India is not doing the needful in this regard.

The military version of cyber war has the potential to be as serious as a nuclear war in terms of creating chaos. It could crash power and water supplies, as well as trashing the global financial systems and information systems. Russia is in favour of an internet disarmament treaty, but the practical aspects are tougher than nukes ever were.

Malware are posing significant threat to India yet there is no attention towards cyber security in India. For instance, we need express provisions and specified procedures to deal with issues like denial of service (DOS), distributed denial of services (DDOS), bot, botnets, trojans, backdoors, viruses and worms, sniffers, SQL injections, buffer overflows etc. Till now India has done nothing in this crucial direction.

India is also suffering from the menaces of cyber war and cyber terrorism. Nobody cares about any these threats in India. Media reports claim that China’s intensified cyber warfare against India is becoming a serious threat to national security. In October 2007, Chinese hackers defaced over 143 Indian websites.

In April 2008, Indian intelligence agencies detected Chinese hackers breaking into the computer network of the Ministry of External Affairs forcing the government to think about devising a new strategy to fortify the system.

As a countermeasure, the Indian armed forces are trying to enhance their C4ISR capabilities, so that the country can launch its own cyber offensive if the need arises. Similarly, Pakistan is taking steps to intensify its cyber war propaganda against India with the help of its intelligence outfit, the ISI by carrying reports of alleged communal fissures taking place on the Indian side of Kashmir. Issues like these have to be resolved as well.

India must immediately start working upon the issues like cyber warm, cyber terrorism, critical infrastructure protection, etc in the larger national interest and national security.

SOURCE: GROUND REPORT

Jurisdictional Issues Of Copyright Law Of India

In a landmark case, Justice S.N. Dhingra of the Delhi High Court has expressed concerns regarding the evasive techniques adopted by many litigants to invoke the original jurisdiction of High Courts. This negates jurisdiction to the courts that actually have to try the case. The court also suggested to the government to bring an amendment in the Copyright Act to remove the discussed anomaly so that the big companies would not take advantage of it. However, experts believe that the current Copyright law of India may pose a contradiction against the observations made vis-à-vis jurisdictional aspects discussed in the case.

Justice S.N. Dhingra of the Delhi High Court has asked Microsoft Corporation to shell out Rs.800,000 ($16,000) for choosing to fight four copyright violation cases in the Indian capital even though they originated in other cities. Microsoft said it was fighting the cases in Delhi as it has its office in the national capital. But the court told Microsoft if it wanted the cases to be heard here, it would have to deposit a sum of Rs.200,000 per case - as a cost security.

This case has raised a very important question of law and it would be interesting to know the further development of the same on Jan 18 next year. This is so because some of the observations of the court are going against the express and settled position of the copyright law of India.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading authority on “jurisdictional issues” of copyright law in India, “Although the intention of the court is benign and justice oriented yet whether it is fully correct or not is still debatable. This is because the relevant section of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 has received a different and contrary interpretation not only by the Delhi High Court itself but also by the Supreme Court of India. However, every case depends upon its own facts and circumstances and the facts of the present case only would decide the fate of this case, says Dalal”.

The jurisdictional issue of copyright violation is a very crucial issue and it needs not only finality but also uniformity. The present observations of the court have raised few interesting and novel questions and they would go a long way in shaping the jurisdictional issues of copyright law in India.

Should IMEI Be A Reasonable National Security Criteria In India?

The Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) recently arrested five people from a cell phone repair shop for implanting fake International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers in cell phones. It is a general perception that the 15-digit IMEI number can be used to identify a handset on an operator’s network, allowing individual calls to be traced to the phone it came from.

Does this assertion has any significant national security importance? Having knowledge about the IMEI number has many advantages for law enforcement and telecom service providers. The IMEI number is used by the GSM network to identify valid devices and therefore can be used to stop a stolen phone from accessing the network. If a mobile phone is stolen, the owner can call his or her network provider and instruct them to "ban" the phone using its IMEI number. This renders the phone useless, whether or not the phone's SIM is changed.

However, the bigger question is whether absence of an IMEI number per se is as offensive as to attract the “national security clause” and to brand a holder of such mobile a “terrorist”?

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law we need to have additional information besides IMEI for national security purposes. The IMEI is only used to identify the device, and has no permanent or semi-permanent relation to the subscriber, says Dalal. However, many network and security features are enabled by knowing the current device being used by a subscriber, suggests Dalal.

Although a good start has been made by the Indian government yet it has to cover a long road ahead. There is an urgent need to impart good techno-legal training to law enforcement and intelligence agencies so that national security can be protected as much as possible. The government must also train law enforcement officers in techno-legal fields so that they may effectively deal with the technology related crimes in India.

Indian Intelligence Agencies Have More Evidence Than FBI In Headley’s Case

Intelligence officials in India are not impressed with the FBI’s inputs regarding Headley’s case. India wanted voice samples of Headley and associate Tahawwur Rana talking to their handlers in Pakistan. But the FBI told them they didn’t have any such intercepts. “We had a lot more information and evidence than they (FBI). Headley told them about the places he visited; we’d already tracked his movements and had evidence to back them,” an intelligence official said.

This also shows the crucial requirements of establishing and strengthening Indian intelligence agencies'. India should primarily rely upon indigenously developed capabilities rather than upon foreign sources.

Serious Frauds and White Collar Crimes Investigation Machinery Is Needed In India

Serious frauds and white collar crimes are increasing all over the world. The offences in these cases are not of conventional or traditional types. The ultimate objective of these crimes and frauds is to use public money in a carefully planned manner for personal use with no right to do it. The entire community is aggrieved if the economic offenders who ruin the economy of the State are not brought to book.

A disregard for the interest of the community can be manifested only at the cost of forfeiting the trust and faith of the community in the system to administer justice in an even handed manner without fear of criticism from the quarters which view white collar crime with a permissive eye, unmindful of the damage done to the national economy and national interest.

Unfortunately in the last few years, India has seen an alarming rise in the serious frauds and white collar crimes, which has affected the fiber of the country’s economic structure. These cases are nothing but private gain at the cost of public and lead to economic disaster.

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law, serious frauds and white collar crimes are increasing globally. With the globalisation and use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) territorial boundaries have shrunken. The ramifications of the acts of one person may be felt in a totally different jurisdiction. There is an emergent need of enacting stringent and effective laws in India on the one hand and effective investigation capabilities on the other, says Dalal.

It is clear that India not only requires good laws that can stringently deal with corporate frauds and other white collar crimes of massive proportion but also should develop scientific and contemporary investigation skills and capabilities.

India Getting Stricter Regarding False IMEI Numbers And Norms

Having knowledge about the IMEI number has many advantages for law enforcement and telecom service providers. The IMEI number is used by the GSM network to identify valid devices and therefore can be used to stop a stolen phone from accessing the network. If a mobile phone is stolen, the owner can call his or her network provider and instruct them to "ban" the phone using its IMEI number. This renders the phone useless, whether or not the phone's SIM is changed.

The Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) recently arrested five people from a cell phone repair shop for implanting fake International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers in cell phones. These phones, widely used by terrorists, had gone dead after a recent government ban. As per the government directives, handsets with false IMEI number were blocked from midnight of November 30 over concerns that criminal or militant groups could use them to organise attacks.

The 15-digit IMEI number can be used to identify a handset on an operator’s network, allowing individual calls to be traced to the phone it came from. If a person uses mobile phone for anti-national activities, the IMEI number can be used to track the set and catch the culprit. But if a lot of cell phones have the same IMEI number, it becomes difficult for investigating agencies to trace individual mobile phones. It was on the basis of the IMEI number that the police established that LeT operative David Coleman Headley had stayed in Lemon Tree Hotel in Mithakali, before 26/11 attacks.

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law we need to have additional information besides IMEI. The IMEI is only used to identify the device, and has no permanent or semi-permanent relation to the subscriber, says Dalal. However, many network and security features are enabled by knowing the current device being used by a subscriber, suggests Dalal.

Although a good start has been made by the Indian government yet it has to cover a long road ahead. The government must also train law enforcement officers in techno-legal fields so that they may effectively deal with the technology related crimes in India.

Law Enforcement And Center-State Relationships In India

Recently the Goa police has been pulled up for not sending details of the Diwali-eve bomb blast investigations to the National Investigating Agency (NIA) set up in 2008 to investigate terror-related crimes in the country. State chief secretary Sanjiv Srivastava admitted that the Goa police had bypassed the NIA and sent updates of the Oct 16 investigations to officials in the ministry of home affairs. This has proved the apprehensions raised by experts like B.S. Dalal previously.

Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are virtually governed by no law in India. The government of India (GOI) never took pain to provide a viable and constitutionally sound legal framework for these institutions in India. The net result is that most of them are still governed by colonial and outdated laws.

Surprisingly, this scenario has not been challenged in the Indian courts. The constitution of India has mandated that law enforcement is a matter of “State List”. The Center cannot legislate on this crucial area. If the Center makes a law in this regard, the same would disturb the harmony between the Center and States relations. So does India has any constitutionally valid legal framework for law enforcement and/or intelligence agencies?

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law, “With the enactment of National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 some steps have been taken in this regard. However, the viability and constitutionality of this Act is yet to be checked. When the Center encroaches upon the powers of the States, constitutional crisis and disputes are bound to arise. Realising the seriousness of the issue, Perry4Law has provided a “10 Point Legal Framework for Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies in India” to the Government of India”.

The government of India has still to enact suitable laws in this crucial direction. In the absence of the same, there are great chances that instances of lack of mutual understanding and cooperation between NIA and State police force may increase. In fact, to a great extent the State police is well within its rights and power to ignore the mandates of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008.

SOURCE: GROUND NEWS