Law Matters | IN Content Law

This post is from a series of posts dealing with basic Indian content laws. Other posts from the series can be accessed at Content101 . One of the main content law concerns when it comes to publishing any biographical material about others is that any publication may have the effect of violating their privacy. Under Indian law, the right to privacy is not well-defined. Nonetheless, it has been recognised under Article 21 of the Constitution of India which deals with the ‘right to life and liberty’— given that Article 21 lies in Part III of the Constitution, the right to privacy is effectively a fundamental right. Apart from Constitution, several statutes also contain disparate provisions relating to privacy; they include the Information Technology Act, the Indian Penal Code, and the Juvenile Justice Act. In addition to this, the right to privacy is also recognised under tort law . If one were to consider the law of privacy in broad strokes, with reference to the decisions of th...

This post is from a series of posts dealing with basic Indian content laws. Other posts from the series can be accessed at Content101 . It does not deal with the provisions of the Information Technology Act or the Rules thereunder. Not taking into account defamation of the State (otherwise known as ‘sedition’), under Indian law, defamation is both a criminal offence and a civil wrong. As far as its being a criminal offence is concerned, Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, (i.e. the IPC), defines what would amount to defamation in relatively clear terms. Later Sections of the IPC specify what the punishment for having committed defamation would be, and the IPC read in conjunction with the procedural requirements laid down in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, (i.e. the CrPC), makes the law relating to defamation as a crime is relatively certain, even if it is considered to be harsh by some. As a civil wrong, however, the law is far less certain. Defamation is treated a...

This post is from a series of posts dealing with basic Indian content laws. Other posts from the series can be accessed at Content101 . Recorded conversations are treated in different ways by the law depending on how the recording is obtained. Tape recordings of conversations have repeatedly been held to be admissible as evidence by courts. However, this does not automatically make telephone tapping and the recording of telephonic conversations legal. Telephone tapping is, of course, subject to its own laws: Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, which grants the Government the power to order the interception of messages; Rule 419A of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951, which lays down the procedural requirements which must be followed for telephone tapping to be legal; Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which deals with the power to issue directions for interception or monitoring or decryption of any information through any computer resource; Informa...