India's first mobile law treatise arrives

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Beware! Your communication device isn’t just your digital identity. It may be easily hacked by suave criminals to access your phonebook, m-commerce accounts or even communicate through your cell phone.

As more mobile-driven services are unfolding, the communication through these devices poses vulnerability to many threats. The treatise Mobile Law by a noted Supreme Court lawyer, and internationally-acclaimed expert on e-Commerce and Cyberlaw Pavan Duggal is India’s first complete treatise on litigation and jurisprudence on communication devices.

Regarded as Gospel in the judicial fraternity, the 730-page book discusses primarily on the newly emerging discipline of mobile law. It deals with various legal aspects such as mobile authentication, evidence, banking, privacy, IPR, privacy and misuse.

Justice Altamas Kabir of Supreme Court while launching the book recently said that it was an area which hasen't been well researched though mobile and technology have been covered in the IT Act 2000, which was amended in 2008.

This is a great contribution and we need to understand this law. “Soon, there will be a time when all services will move to mobile devices that would eliminate the paper work. Therefore, there is imminent need to deal with mobile technology, including mobile banking, he said.

Justice Kabir said that terrorists are eveen using mobile devices to blow explosives. The book, he said would be very useful in future, especially to those people who are connected to virtual world.

Justice AK Sikri of Delhi High Court said that Mobile Law is a complete treatise. “The book is very apt as a number of similar issues are coming to courts,” he said. Justice Sikri said that 90 per cent of criminal cases are today solved through call details and mobile tracing.

In next 4 years, as studies say, more people will connect to Internet via mobile devices; the book is however a significant step for the entire legal processes involving the investigating and law enforcement agencies as well as the mobile industry.

N Ravi Shanker, additional secretary of the Ministry of Communications and IT said that mobile revolution has opened a whole new aspect while device-based crimes are on increase. The free speech has also been highlighted in respect to wireless, PDA, iPad and social networks.

As communication devices are becoming an integral part of our lives and the absence of such a law, Duggal said, propelled him to pen a treatise on mobile law. “I have studied laws and jurisprudence across  the world. Though the IT Act 2000 broadly defines the communication device but there was an absence of proper law in the country, he

added.

Different countries have their own approach, informed Duggal. “Mobile criminals are very suave. Something gets activated on device and others might hear conversation,” he added. Duggal strongly believes that the mobile economy in India is all set to boom in next five years.