Rajya Sabha too clears IT Bill

BANGALORE: The Information Technology Bill, 1999, that was passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, has been cleared by the Upper House of Parliament today with a voice vote. The IT Bill, aimed at providing legal recognition to transactions carried out through electronic data interchange and other means of electronic communication, commonly known as e-commerce, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha (RS) earlier today.

Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan said this Bill would involve the use of alternatives to paper-based methods of communication and storage of information. It will also facilitate electronic filing of documents with the government agencies, amendments to the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Banker's Book Evidence Act, 1891, and the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and deal with matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The Minister said that the 21st century will be known as the information century and, with the passage of this Bill, digital signature would become a legal entity. The Bill, unanimously passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, would give a boost to e-commerce and e-governance, he added. Mahajan told the RS that he would recommend the Union minister and the states that the police officers dealing with cyber crimes be educated in computers. The Minister also pointed out that the standing committee of Parliament, which examined the Bill, had made a similar recommendation.

Mahajan said that members of the media had created an uncalled for scare over the powers given to the police in arresting those who commit cyber crimes. The Minister clarified that the IT Bill had vested such powers with only those officers of the rank of deputy superintendent of police, limiting the number to just one per cent of the police force. Whereas, under the IPC and the Criminal Procedure Code, even constables were given the authority to arrest without warrant.