Blackmail is an act of coerion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or

false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging
information, and may be revealed to family members or associates rather than to the general public.
It may involve using threats of physical, mental or emotional harm, or of criminal prosecution, against
the victim or someone close to the victim. It is normally carried out for personal gain, most commonly
of position, money, or property.

Blackmailing amounts to Criminal intimidation, which is well defined in

the Indian Penal Code Section 503 as:
Whoever threatens another with any injury to his person, reputation or property , or to the person or
reputation of any one in whom that person is interested , with intent to cause alaram to that person ,
or to omit to do any act which that person is legally entitled to do , as the means of avoiding the
execution of such threat , commits criminal intimidation. The offence of criminal intimidation can be
punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with
fine , or with both .