By IANS
Bhopal : Taking exception to some amendments proposed in the Information Technology Act, 2000, including not treating hacking as a cognisable offence, Madhya Pradesh IT Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya has urged the central government to refrain from introducing them.
Proposed amendments in the IT Act-2000 include, deletion of a clause which considers hacking as a cognisable and non-bailable offence, reducing penalties in cases related to pornography and introduction of a new clause which envisages that no court shall take cognisance except upon a complaint by the aggrieved.
Vijayvargiya, who has also written to Union Communications and IT Minister A. Raja urging him not to implement the proposed amendments, told IANS Thursday that the proposed amendments if implemented would prove to be a boon for those indulging in cyber crime and efforts towards promoting IT would prove counter-productive.
"When countries across the globe are formulating stringent laws to check cyber crimes, such recommendations granting leniency to the offenders would certainly add to the woes of the victims instead of providing them protection."
If Section 66 of the IT Act, which considers hacking a cognisable and non-bailable offence with a three-year sentence and/or fine up to Rs.200,000, is amended, it would give hackers the advantage and they could go about their business fearlessly, Vijayvargiya said.
He said, in its present form, it is possible to formulate cognisable offences in cases of serious nature of crimes, but with amendments the crime would be treated as being civil in nature and the victims would be debarred from getting immediate relief and forced to seek legal help.