Bala Chauhan/DHNS
Bangalore, Nov 1: If you are sending lascivious messages or images through your mobile phone, beware. You may be held under the Information Technology Act 2000, conviction under which can land you in prison for five years along with a fine of Rs 1 lac.
Subsequent conviction can lead to 10 years in jail and fine of Rs 2 lac.
Section 67 of the IT Act clearly states that publishing and transmitting of obscene information in electronic form is a punishable “There’s not much awareness on the IT Act and very little is known about Section 67. The general assumption is that obscene text or images sent through computer alone fall under the said Section. This is wrong as any sexually explicit material transmitted online is an offence under Section 67 of the IT Act," SP,CoD (Cyber Crime) B A Mahesh, said.
The State cyber crime police station has received a few complaints against obscene messages and pictures sent on cellphones.
“This is a serious offence because it leads to a lot of mental harassment. We have also been getting complaints on impersonation and tampering of photographs and personal details posted on Orkut. People join the online community for fun but sometimes land in trouble because of misuse of their details. There are some complaints on how girls’ photographs have been taken from Orkut and posted on websites on adult escorts, soliciting clients,” he added.
“Unlike conventional offences, where the court relies on evidence given by witnesses, in cyber crime digital evidence is all that’s required to prove the offence. The material links the accused with the offence. In case of objectionable SMS, we can trace the ownership of the phone and in case of mails sent through the computer, we can track the IP address. Even if the messages are deleted, there are techniques to trace them. The onus is on the owner and it’s very difficult to prove innocence,” Mahesh said.
He added that in several cases chargesheets have been filed in court and are pending trial. “The IT Act itself is new and it’s a matter of time before the accused are convicted.” Regarding the profile of the accused, the officer said generally the person is from the complainant’s workplace or the neighbourhood.