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CHAPTER I
: PRELIMINARY
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 thereunder
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
provisions 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 instruments as defined in section 13 of the Negotiable
Instruments Act, 1881;
(b) a power-of-attorney as defined in section 1A of the Powers -of-Attorney
Act, 1882;
(c) a trust as defined in section 3 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882;
(d) a will as defined in clause (h) of section 2 of the Indian Succession
Act, 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 an adjudicating officer appointed
under sub-section (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 an
DigitalElectronic
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
different
types or forms of
Electronic 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 manipulation 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;
(j) "computer network" means the interconnection of one or more
computers
or
computer systems
through-
(i) the use of satellite, microwave, terrestrial line,
wireless
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 data base or software;
(l) "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 (1) of section 17;
(n) "Cyber Appellate Tribunal" means the Cyber Regulations Appellate
Tribunal established under sub-section (1) of section 48;
(nn) “Cyber
Café”
means a place where
access
to electronic form
is provided to the public
(o) "data"
means a representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts or
instructions which
are
is 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
subscriber by means of an electronic method or procedure in accordance with
provisions section 3;
(p)
"digital signature"
means an electronic signature
where authentication of electronic record is in the manner as provided in
sub-section (2) of section 5.
(q)
“Digital Signature Certificate” means a Digital Signature Certificate”
issues under subsection (4) of section 35;
(pa)
“digital signature certificate”
means an electronic signature certificate where authentication is by Digital
Signature.
(qr)
"electronic form" with reference to information means any information
generated, sent, received or stored in media, magnetic, optical, computer
memory, micro film, computer generated micro fiche or similar device;
(rs)
"Electronic Gazette" means the Official Gazette published in the
electronic form;
(st)
"electronic record" means data, record or data generated, image or
sound stored, received or sent in an electronic form or micro film or
computer generated micro fiche;
(t) “electronic
signature”
means authentication of any electronic record by a subscriber by means of
an electronic method or procedure in any manner as the Central Government
may prescribe as provided
in
section
5 and
shall include Digital Signature.
(tt) "electronic signature certificate" means an Electronic Signature
Certificate issued under section
35 and shall include Digital Signature Certificate.
(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,
message,
text, images, sound, voice, codes, computer programmes, software and data
bases or micro film or computer generated micro fiche;
(w) "intermediary" with respect to any particular electronic
message
record
means any person who on behalf of another person receives, stores or
transmits that
record
message or provides any service with respect to
that
electronic
that
record
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;
(zaa)
“Person” means
any individual,
company
or body corporate or association or body of Individuals, whether
incorporated or not or artificial juridical person, whether domiciled or
resident in India or outside India
(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
Electronic
Signature
Certificate
authenticated by use of
Digital
Signature
;
(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
DigitalElectronic
Signature Certificate is issued;
(zh) "verify" in relation to a
digitalelectronic5A
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
digitalelectronic5A
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
digitalelectronic5A
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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