CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction

Jurisprudence is a wide field crossed by many paths, none being superior to another,
since much depends on where one wishes to go. The Latin equivalent of Jurisprudence
is ‘juris prudentia’ which means either “knowledge of law” or “skill in law”. 1
Jurisprudence absorbs within its fold the thoughts about law, structure, uses and
functioning of law and legal concepts. Thoughts about law embody within it- the story
of movements in outlook, ever-changing ideas and developments that are taking place
in contemporary physical, moral and other social sciences. Jurisprudential study is
based broadly to bring out the interrelation between law and other disciplines. 2 Hence,
with a view to giving effect to this aim of Jurisprudence, this research work is focused
on the inter-disciplinary research of law with commerce wherein the role of law has
been analysed in Internet e-Commerce for the protection of consumers. In the era of
new spectrum of technological advancements and its threats to humanity, Indian
Jurisprudence cannot be a mute spectator.

The footprints of the evolutionary process of humanity depict that the lap of new
millennium has absorbed manifold technical revolutions. The path of evolution of new
millennium reveals the fact that over the last few centuries, human beings have
experienced two major revolutions: The Industrial Revolution and the Electronic
Revolution. The Industrial Revolution has transformed our society from being
agricultural based to industrial based, whereas the Electronic Revolution has
transformed our society from being mechanical based to electronically based. In the
third millennium, a new revolution has opened its eyes namely Network Revolution. It
interconnects different parts of the world, enabling the seamless flow of information.
The Internet is the engine of this revolution and Electronic Commerce (e-Commerce) is
its fuel. 3 Today this revolution is centred on information, access to it and profitable
application of it. Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the

1
R.W.M. Dias, Jurisprudence, Buttersworths, London, 1976, p. 1.
2
ibid., p. 20.
3
Henry Chan, Raymond Lee and Tharam Dillon and Elizabeth Chang, E-Commerce:
Fundamentals and Applications, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, 2002, pp. xix-xx.

1
walls topped by barbed wire; it wafts across the electric borders. Information can be
seen as a super lubricant being used in the machinery; the more successful its
applications, the finer the oil. This revolution is more correctly termed as the Internet
Revolution or e-Revolution. The generative capacity for unrelated and unaccredited
audiences to build and distribute code and content through Internet to its millions of
attached personal computers has initiated the growth and innovation in Information
technology and has facilitated new creative endeavours.4 Information Technology is one
of the fast growing technologies all over the world. Information islands are now being
connected by digital highways through the use of advanced communication technology.
Information Technology, thus, evolved out of the marriage between two versatile
technologies namely, Computer and Communication technologies. Information
Technology represents the fourth generation of human communication, after sight, oral
and written communication.5

In the last years of the 20 th century a phenomenon has been witnessed which has
changed the shape of human civilization. This is the explosion which has taken place in
electronics and as a result of which there has been infinite expansion of knowledge that
is commonly described as information explosion. The most outstanding development in
this area has been the geometric expansion of trade and commerce through the Internet
or the web. The web accepts no restrictions of the country and the free trade and
commerce available through website in cyberspace is known as e-Commerce.6
Information Technology has opened vistas for developing complete new business
modules in order to facilitate and expedite modern day business transactions. The
cutting edge for business today is e-Commerce and certainly one of the officially
proclaimed objectives of the Internet. e-Commerce is a commerce revolutionized by the
Internet-era technology (Information and Communication Technology). With the
invention of the Internet, economy has revolutionized from B-Commerce (Bania
Commerce) to e-Commerce (Electronic Commerce).

4
Jonathan L. Zittrain, “The Generative Internet”, Harvard Law Review, Vol. 119, No. 6, April,
2006, p. 1975.
5
R.K. Tiwari, P.K. Sastry and R.V. Ravi Kumar, Computer Crime and Computer Forensics,
Select Publications, Delhi, 2002, p. 5.
6
S.R. Sharma (edited), Encyclopaedia of Cyber Laws and Crime: Laws on E-Commerce, Vol. 3,
Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2003, pp. 123-140.

2
1.2 e-Commerce: A New Gateway of Technological Success
“Information Technology and Business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don't
think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without talking about the other.”
Bill Gates

e-Commerce is a new gateway of technological success of the Indian business scenario

in the era of information explosion. e-Commerce has revolutionized business activities
globally through the use of information and digital technology. It means conducting
business through network technology. This digital technology provides effective
communication platform to communicate to the consumers directly or through online
marketing. Today e-Commerce is taking front seat in all businesses worldwide. Most
traditional business practices are getting brushed aside due to the onslaught of an
electronic environment. e-Commerce is a new networked economy which has some
characteristics quite unlike those of the old industrial economy. 7

e-Commerce means application of electronics in commerce. ‘e’ is a question of

technical capability and commerce is the way in which this capability is applicable. 8
Any form of business transaction in which the parties interact electronically rather than
through physical exchanges or direct physical contact is termed as e-Commerce. e-
Commerce is a term popularised by the advent of commercial services on the Internet.
Before the invention of the Internet, e-Commerce was largely a hidden business-to-
business affair. The fact is that the origin of e-Commerce dates back some 30 years and
lie in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), a standard way of exchanging data between
companies. Internet e-Commerce is, however, only one part of the overall sphere of e-
Commerce. 9

e-Commerce is a super-set of business cases which have been digitalised and work on
the Internet. An e-Business category is defined by the business cases and not by the
technology to implement it. e-Commerce has, thus, become a hot new option which has
saved companies from a considerable amount of expenses by eliminating human
7
Vasu Deva, E-Business: Search For Excellence, Commonwealth Publishers, New Delhi, 2003,
pp. 1-5
8
Mark Norris and Steve West, e-Business Essentials, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, 2001,
pp. 2-3.
9
D. Whiteley, E-Commerce, Strategy, Technologies and Applications, McGraw-Hill Companies,
New York, 2000, p. 4.
3
intervention in order processing. 10 The present research work is concentrated generally
on the concept of e-Commerce and particularly on the frauds related to Internet e-
Commerce (electronic tailing) from civil perspective (victimised online Consumers) and
compensation mechanism to victimised e-Consumers.

In particular terms, e-Commerce covers the use of information technology,

communication technology and information management skills in business. It is the
application of new technologies particularly the Internet and the Web technologies to
help individuals, business, companies and other organisations to conduct business in a
better way. e-Commerce involves advertising, marketing, stock exchange, payment
mechanism, banking, taxation, supply chain mechanism, Cyber law and the WTO
relating to electronic dealings. e-Commerce includes: (1) Electronic Data Interchange
(EDI), (2) Electronic Mail (e-mail), (3) World Wide Web (www.), (4) Electronic
Bulletin Boards (EBB) and (5) Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT). e-Commerce requires
communication networks like: (1) Value Added Network (VAN), (2) Local Area
Network (LAN) and (3) Internet.11

The ‘e-Revolution’ has placed virtually the entire trading universe in cyberspace. e-
Commerce is a gateway of technological success of the Indian business scenario in the
era of information explosion. With e-Commerce, shopping can be done at any time by
using “fingertips” instead of “feet”. The geographical barriers have become a blur. A
shop located in another country and a shop next to your home is both on “one finger-
click” away. In the context of e-Commerce, the relationship is not just selling through
the web but managing customer relationship in general. Particularly from the
perspective of buyer and seller relationship, e-Commerce application can be divided
formally into six categories: 12

10
B.S. Bhatia and Gurcharan Singh, “E-Commerce-Striking the Issues”, The Indian Journal of
Commerce, Vol. 55, No. 1 & 2, January-June, 2002, p. 51.
11
Joanie Wexler, “Carriers build nets for Electronic Commerce”, Network World, 15 May 1995,
Vol. 12, No. 20, p. 15.
12
U.G. Shanmuga Sundram, “E-Commerce in the New Millennium”, The Indian Journal of
Commerce, Vol. 54, No. 4, October-December, 2001, pp. 193-194.
4
I. Business-to-Business (Termed as ‘e-hub’, the Second Industrial Revolution. It
includes: Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Electronic Resource Management
(ERP).
II. Business-to-Consumer (Includes: e-tailing, e-brooking, e-news, e-learning, e-
service etc., etc.)
III. Consumer-to-Business (Includes: commercial transactions between consumers
and businessmen in online shopping and trading).
IV. Consumer-to-Consumer (Popular as e-Bay e-Commerce).
V. Business-to-Government
VI. Government-to-Consumer

The last two categories have been added in the 21st Century only. Earlier there were
prominent four categories of e-Commerce. For the purpose of online payments in e-
Commerce from the Government Banks and taxation purpose, it becomes necessary to
involve the Government sector also along with private companies in e-Commerce.

B-B

G-C B-C

E-
COMMERCE

B-G C-B

C-C

Diagram I
From the perspective of Buyer and Seller Relationship, e-Commerce application
can be formally divided into six categories

5
e -tailing or electronic retailing is the selling of retail goods on the Internet. e-Tailing is
synonymous with business-to-consumer (B2C) transaction and it is one of the most
cherished forms of e-Commerce.13 The sale of goods and services through the Internet
is called Electronic Retailing– ‘e-Tailing'. e-Tailing requires businesses to tailor
traditional business models to the rapidly changing face of the Internet and its users. e-
Tailors are not restricted solely to the Internet as some brick-and-mortar businesses also
operate websites to reach consumers. 14 e-Tailing began to work for some major
corporations and smaller entrepreneurs as early as 1997 when Dell Computer reported
multimillion dollar orders taken at its Web site. The success of Amazon.com hastened
the arrival of Barnes and Noble's e-tail website. e-Tailing has resulted in the
development of e-tailware; a software tools for creating online catalogues and managing
the business connected for doing e-tailing. A new trend is the price comparison site that
can quickly compare prices from a number of different e-tailors and link online
consumers to them.15 This research is concentrated, generally on all the categories and
particular on Business-to-Consumer and Consumer-to-Business; where the consumers
are participating in shopping through Internet and they are day to day victims of online
frauds.

1.3 Internet e-Commerce: A New Revolutionary Phase in e-Commerce

Development of e-Commerce in the new millennium is supported by the growth of the

Internet. Internet runs through commercial activities like a golden-thread. Internet is an
emerging global trading platform. From the moment of its inception in 1969, Internet
has been designed to serve both as a means of establishing a logical network and as a
means of subsuming the existing heterogeneous networks while allowing those
networks to function independently-that is, both as a set of building blocks and as the
glue holding the blocks together.16

13
Electronic tailing or e- tailing has been used in Internet discussions as early as 1995, the term
seems an almost inevitable addition to e-mail, e-business, and e-commerce. Retrieved
from<http://www.etailingindia.com> visited on 3 July, 2013.
14
Retrieved from<http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/electronic-retailing-e-tailing.asp> visited
on 3 July, 2013.
15
Retrieved from<http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/e-tailing> visited on 3 July, 2013.
16
V.D. Dudeja, Information Technology and Cyber Laws, Common Wealth Publishers, New
Delhi, 2001, p. 28.
6
Once Internet became popular the computer engineers and business community of
computer industry saw a great opportunity and a method to revolutionize the entire
business method and modus operandi. Although before Internet, e-Commerce has been
in existence in commerce world, however, Internet serves as seven steps in the marriage
between Computer Engineering and Business Community. Internet e-Commerce is
child (issue) of this wed-lock. Thus, Internet e-Commerce has taken birth out of the
marriage between these two fields.17

It is commercialisation and popularisation of the Internet that has put e-Commerce on

the top of public, political, economic and legal agenda. As a matter of fact Internet is a
strange phenomenon because nobody owns it. It was born as a U.S. military project
ARPANET in 1969 and ultimately developed as an academic and research network.18
Emergence of the Internet as a vast public network with millions of people connected
online has given rise to a new interactive e-market for buying and selling. The world
has just entered a third new phase in the revolution of Information Technology (IT) into
20 years periods: (i) 1955-1974: The Electronic Data Processing Era (EDP); (ii) 1975-
1994: The Management Information System Era (MIS); and (iii) 1995-2014: The
Internet Era. It is like when Alibaba goes up to the impregnable hill and speaks the
magic words. Immediately, the cave throws open the bosom and reveals its colossal
treasure to him. 19 The Internet has also provided a treasure of Information. However,
Internet works as a double edged weapon. On one hand, it has flourished commerce
and, on the other hand, it has also posed great challenges before the contemporary
society.20 This study is focused on analysing these challenges. An attempt has been
made to make the cyber world a safe platform for online shoppers.

1.4 Consumer Jurisprudence in e-Commerce in India: An Ignored Phenomenon

The growing interdependence of the world economy has contributed to the development
of universal emphasis on the protection and promotion of consumer rights. The term

17
Swalia Bihari Verma, “The True Picture of E-Commerce”, in S. B. Verma, Information Technology
and Management, Deep & Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2005, pp. 188-190.
18
Mohamma Mahmoudi Maymand, E-Commerce, Deep & Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi,
2005, p. 3.
19
Aamod Gupta, “Info Highway Helpers”, The Lawyers Collective, Vol. 14, No. 1, July,1999, p. 26.
20
D. Armor, The E-Business (R) Evolution: Living and Working in an Interconnected World, Prentice
Hall PTR, London, 2000, p. 357.
7
‘Consumerism’ falls within the most scientific conceptions of contemporary social
movements. It can be defined as a diverse and evolving social movement seeking to
enhance the economic well being and political power of consumers. Consumerism
denotes a common thread that runs through consumer activism. The spirit of
consumerism is very essential for the protection of rights of consumers. 21 Consumer
Jurisprudence is that body of law concerning market place whereby varying interests of
the predominant group of sellers and consumers are reconciled. It is a study of such
legal principles, judicial decisions and precepts which protect and regulate the interests
of the consumers in the administration of consumer justice. 22 In India, Consumer
jurisprudence is centred on the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. In addition to it, there
are number of pre-Constitutional laws to protect consumers. Mahatma Gandhi said: “A
Consumer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us we
are on him. He is not an interruption to our work; he is the purpose of it. We are not
doing a favour to a consumer by giving him an opportunity. He is doing us a favour by
giving an opportunity to serve him.”23 In spite of these views consumerism is still in
danger in our country, particularly in the Cyber world.

In the early 1990s, few consumers had heard of e-mail, the Internet and the World Wide
Web (www). Presently a number of consumers use these applications as a common
instrument for various online services. Retailers are setting up their online businesses,
attracting consumers to experience the advantages of shopping in a borderless online
environment. Consumers are offered convenience, speed and global choice in services,
goods and, more importantly, prices. Modern technological developments have made a
great impact on the quality, availability and safety of goods and services. But the fact of
life is that the consumers are still victims of unscrupulous and exploitative practices.
The Internet has challenged the traditional position of the consumer. In the lap of
Internet revolution, consumers have entered into a new form of business, namely e-
Commerce wherein identification of consumers are code words as well as the

21
G.B. Reddy, Law of Consumer Protection, Gogia Law Agency, Hyderabad, 1997, p. 3.
22
S. N. Dhayani, Fundamentals of Jurisprudence: The Indian Perspective, Central Law Agency,
Allahabad, 1997, p. 428.
23
Retrieved from < www.consumersinternational.org/campaigns/electronic/e-comm.pdf.>
visited on 21 March, 2011.
8
identification of sellers are also their web sites address (IP Addresses) only. Therefore,
the safety, security and protection of consumers is a big challenge. The Internet implies
new hazards for consumers in the environment of e-marketing. The consequences of
shopping in the borderless world of the Internet function differently from the offline
world in various ways. The position of the consumer in an electronic environment is
primarily weaker when it comes to issues concerning privacy, payments and
transactions. Consumers usually lack the opportunity to obtain sufficient information
about the identity of the supplier; the terms and conditions of any transaction (including
the price of the goods and services); details of delivery costs; the quality of the goods or
services; and fair, timely and affordable dispute resolution. 24 ‘Consumer is Sovereign’
and ‘Customer is the King’ are nothing more than myths in the present scenario
particularly in the developing societies.

1.5 Law and e-Commerce

It is in this digital soup, this is hyper-rational environment, that we see

the death of the barrier . . . what we do have is, the network and the
death of dichotomy. This is fatal for the legal system, which depends, for
its very life, on the existence of barriers- after all, that’s what the law
does: it utters the line between this and that, and punishes the
transgressor.
Justice Curtis E. A. Karnow

Commerce is global, however, law governing commerce is not globally uniform. A

global spanning technology; that is Internet, has facilitated flow of data and digitalized
information across the NET in digitalized packets through the interconnection of
telephone networks. The old set of rules and practices governing communication and
trading are largely incompatible with the emerging system of communication and
trading practices in a borderless world created by the Internet. Thus, in order to pave the
way for the development of e-Commerce and internationally acceptable level of legal
uniformity and compatibility of rules and practices, the United Nations Commission on
International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) established by the United Nations General
Assembly in 1996 has adopted the Model Law of Electronic Commerce in 1996. It is
24
J. E. J. Prins, “Consumers, Liability, and the Online World”, Information & Communication
Technology Law, Vol. 12, No. 2, June, 2003, pp. 143-164 at p. 146.
9
intended to facilitate the use of EDI, e-mail, telegram, telex or telegraphy etc. etc., by
providing standards with which their legal value can be assessed. 25

The UNCITRAL Model Law, 1996 (Model Law) has 17 Articles that covers different
functions performed by the parties for transacting trade and commerce in the paper
based business. The Model Law, as adopted by U.N. General Assembly in January 1997
provides the broad framework on the basis of which the member nations are expected to
formulate their Cyber laws and regulations for a synchronized approach towards the
legal framework of electronic commerce. In order to protect interests of the consumers,
it has been provided that this law does not override any rule of law intended for the
protection of consumers. A legal instrument that is particularly geared toward the
‘harmonisation’ of democratic trade law is UNCITRAL Model Law concept. This
Model Law creates a legal framework for the individual states to follow when adopting
new trade laws or modifying the existing laws. 26

THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(AMENDMENT ) ACT 2008

THE UNCITRAL MODEL LAW OF

ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES OF 2001

THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT

2000

THE UNCITRAL MODEL LAW OF

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE OF 1996

THE UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL TRADE

LAW COMMISSION [AFRICA, ASIA, EASTERN
EUROPEAN, LATIN AMERICA, WESTERN
EUROPE] 1966

Diagram II
Foundation of formation Indian Information Technology Act, 2000
25
Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya, “Legal Framework of Electronic Commerce: A Study with Special
Reference to Information Technology Act 2000”, The Indian Journal of Commerce, Vol. 54, No.
4, October-December, 2001, p. 201.
26
Dennis Campbell, E-Commerce and Law of Digital Signatures, Oceana Publications Inc.,
London, pp. v - vii.
10
On the basis of the UNCITRAL Model Law of Electronic Commerce 1996, India has
enacted the Information Technology (IT) Act 2000. The IT Act 2000 passed by the
Parliament of India on 17 May 2000 is the second Cyber law in the whole South Asia
after Singapore. While attempting to comprehend the provisions of the IT Act 2000,
it is important to highlight that this legislation is the first and foremost Electronic
Commerce Legislation in India. When the very first draft was prepared, it read,
“Electronic Commerce Bill”; in keeping with the prime objectives of the Ministry of
Commerce, Government of India. With the creation of the Ministry of Information
Technology, the Draft Bill was re-cherished with the rather ‘generic’ title. The reason
was the same “functional equivalence” that electronic records and transactions would
be accorded on equal weight in the evidence law as the ‘transnational paper records’.
With this Act, the task of making contracts through electronic data interchange has
received full legal recognition in the country. As stated in its preamble:

It is an Act to provide legal recognition for transactions carried out by

means of electronic data interchange and other means of electronic
communication commonly referred to electronic commerce which
involve the use of alternatives to paper-based methods of
communication and storage of information, to facilitate electronic
filing of documents with the government agencies and further to
amend the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872,
the Bankers Book Evidence Act, 1891 and the Reserve Bank of India
Act, 1934 and the matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.

Presently, the Bible of Cyber law in India is the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The other Acts providing helping hands to it are the Consumer Protection Act 1986,
the Indian Penal Code 1860, the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, the Indian Evidence
Act, 1872 and the Indian Contract Act, 1872. In the next Diagram III the inter-
relationship of Indian laws governing Internet commerce and consumers is displayed.

11
 • THE • THE
INFORMATION
RMATION CONSUMER
CONSUM
TECHNOLOGY
NOLOGY PROTECTION
PROTEC
ACT 2000
00 (2008)) 1986 (2002)
(20

INTERNET PROTECTION
OF RIGHTS
E- OF
COMMERCE CONSUMERS
CO

E-FRAUDS
DS
(CYBER JUDICIAL
CRIMES, E-
BANKING PROCEDURE
FRAUDS
• THE INDIAN • THE CI
CIVIL
PENALL CODE PROCEDURE CODE
PROCED
1908
1860
• THE CR
CRIMINAL
• BANKING
KING PROCEDURE CODE
PROCED
LEGISLATIONS
ATIONS 1973

Diagram III

Picture of Indian Laws governing e-Commerce, Consumer Protection and e-Frauds

In the present study focus is on the critical analysis of the Information Technology Act,
2000 (The Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008) from consumer
perspective as well as analysis of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (The Consumer
Protection (Amendment) Act, 2002) in context of protection of consumers in online
marketing. It is not feasible to analyse all the governing provisions on e-Commerce and
consumer protection, therefore, this research is majorly focussed on these two
legislations and reference has been made from other relevant Indian legislations like the
Indian Contract Act, 1872 the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and RBI Guidelines on
consumer protection in India.

1.6 Review of Literature

The present study is an analytical, critical, empirical and inter-disciplinary (Commerce

and Law) study. In this research primary as well as secondary data have been used.
Some of the relevant sources like UNCITRAL Model Law 1996, The Information
Technology Act, 2000, The Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008, The
Indian Contract Act, 1872 and the Guidelines of Reserve Bank of India are carefully

12
studied. In the present study books written by eminent scholars on this topic, Law
Journals, Law Magazines, All India Reporters, Manuscripts and literature available on
the Internet have also provided rich information. Researcher envisages a number of
visits to the various libraries and documentation centres for collecting literature from
commercial and legal view points. A number of studies have been undertaken in India
and abroad in this domain. This chapter contains a brief review of some studies bearing
direct or indirect relevance to the present study. The researcher has used the best texts
and references for completing this research work. In the following pages, researcher has
mentioned review of some prominent research work conducted in the area relevant to
the present study.

BOOKS

Majumdar, Chauhdhari and Datta (1978) have described salient features of Indian
history in the different periods of its evolution. A prominent place has been given to
important topics of colonial, cultural expansion of the ancient Hindus, the evolution of
different types of Art and Commerce. A special stress has been given to social,
economic, political, administrative and legal aspects in ancient India. In the present
research this book has been referred for tracing the foot prints of evolution of trade,
commerce and consumer protection from ancient India. Not much detail is available
about consumer protection, however, the reference of trade, commerce and social
conditions of people in ancient India is available from which the situation of consumers
has been traced and referred in this research work.

Loudon and Bitta (1984) have written this book with the purpose of blending both
concepts and applications in the field of consumer behaviour. This book not only
presents theoretical concepts of consumer behaviour, but it also stresses the application
of this conceptual material to marketing strategies and decision making in the private,
public and government around which the major areas of consumer-behaviour
knowledge can be discussed. The book is thoroughly documented and provides ample
opportunity for the readers to understand a particular area of interest in great detail. This
book is divided into five parts that has provided a good insight into the various aspects
of consumer behaviour. Generally, consumer behaviour texts have been crammed with

13
theories; however, this book has given attention to pragmatic approach of consumers in
the marketplace. It highlights the Consumer Decision Process, discussing the way in
which consumer make purchase decision based on their environmental influences and
individual determinants. A four-staged model of consumers’ decision processes namely;
(i) Problem Recognition; (ii) Information Search and Evaluation; (iii) Purchasing
Process; and (iv) Post-Purchase Behaviour is discussed. In nutshell, this book offers an
improved treatment of the information evaluation process by consumers in the physical
market place. However, there is no discussion about social and legal perspectives
relating to consumers.

Agarwala (1985) has provided a comprehensive description of the history of trade and
commerce in India. The study is focused on the origin and rise of important business
houses-both past and present- and their role and dominance in the corporate sector. It
examines their speculator growth during the last 50 years, the great heights attained by
them during the phenomenal years of the Second World War. The sources of their
growth and investments have been broadly identified. The entire history of Indian
Commerce and trade has been provided in chronological manner. This book has helped
to understand the nature of trade in ancient India. This book has highlighted various
aspects of Indian commerce including concentration of economic power and the social
responsibilities of business.

Agarwal, A.D. (1989) in his handbook aims at educating the Indian consumers on the
right methods of purchasing goods/services. It enlightens the consumers about their
rights in market. Very important as well as easy remedies are mentioned for consumers
for their guidance. This book has four parts. The introductory part offers guidelines on
choosing and buying goods of quality like canned food products, electrical appliance,
utensils etc., etc. at reasonable price. The second part deals with various types of
exploitation of consumers in day to day life. The third part depicts day-to- day examples
of consumer protection and legal attitude in this field. The last part of this book
highlights remedies that are provided in the case of fraud with consumers by sellers.
This is a very short but effective handbook for guidance to consumers. This book is
focused on the consumer protection in physical world.

14
Aggarwal, V.K. (1989) has presented an exhaustive work on consumer protection
legislation in India. In this book the author has made descriptive analysis of the legal
protection available to the consumers in India. An elaborate elucidation of the historical
background of various legislations in different nations of the world like Germany, U.K.,
Belgium are presented. It critically analyses the MRTP Act, 1969 and the Consumer
Protection Act, 1986 in the respect of restrictive/unfair trade practices and rights of
consumers. A very close look is given to the scope, provisions and penalties under the
MRTP Act, 1969. The legal rights of consumers and the establishment of the three tier
redressal machinery for remedial measures under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986
are elaborated in very detail. The various aspects of activities, powers and penalties
imposed by the District Forums, State Commission and National Commissions are
broadly notified and discussed with the help of relevant case laws.

Saraf (1990) has provided one of the most relevant works ever done on the topic of
consumer protection. The author has made a scholarly attempt to analyse various
aspects of consumer protection in India. A detailed reflection of the evolution of
consumer law in U.S.A., U.K. and India is given. It has explained the profile of Indian
consumers and highlighted their problems arising out of public utility services like
railways, roads, transport, air transport, insurance, banking and telephone services;
which are peculiar to India due to monopolization of production. In this book, the
author has critically examined utility of certain doctrines like the Doctrine of ‘Caveat
Emptor’, important safeguards that are contained in Sales of Goods Act, 1930 like
conditions and warranties, implied conditions relating to description and merchantable
quality. This book has briefly given an outlook on the essential features of some
legislations like the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, the Prevention of Food
Adulteration Act, 1954, the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940 and the Standards of
Weights and Measures Act, 1976. The problems connected with their implementation
and enforcement are critically examined.

Nayak (1990) has visualized the consumer himself/ herself as guardian of his/her own
rights. He has highly criticized the attitude of Indian consumers for passively submitting
themselves for the exploitation of traders. He has mentioned that the frequent
destruction of receipts, lack of assertiveness for one’s own rights and the feeling of
15
alienation have prevented consumers from counteracting deceptive, unfair and
misleading trade practices. This book has highlighted the bitter but actual reality that
legislations in India for protection of the interests of consumers are not enforced
properly so as to control and eliminate deceptive acts and practices of sellers. The
legislative enactments for protecting the interests of consumers are yet to become
instruments of positive action in redressing consumer grievances. There is need to
educate the consumers about their rights. The author has mentioned that the most
effective method of protecting consumers is not intervention by the State but the active
participation of voluntary consumer protection agencies and movements of
consumerism. The author has argued that consumerism in India is yet to take birth to
become a people’s movement. He has expressed his dissatisfaction with Indian
legislations for the protection of consumers.

Garg (1990) has focused on the relevance of consumers in social- economic context. He
has highlighted various categories of consumers as well as various types of frauds with
consumers. In this book the rights of consumers are discussed in good detail. A number
of relevant case laws including the services of banks, insurance companies and other
public sectors have been given. This book is concentrated on the Consumer Protection
Act, 1986 and its relevance in India. An elaborate procedure for handling different types
of complaints of consumers on drugs, trade practices, advertising etc. is given. A brief
idea about the organization, constitution, functions, powers and activities of the
Voluntary Consumer Organizations, International Agencies, Consumer Protection
Council as well as their procedure, funds and appointment of members is also provided.

Singh, Gurbax (1993) has highlighted Consumer Protection Jurisprudence in India in a

very beautiful manner. The Indian jurisprudence on consumer protection is based on the
Consumer Protection Act, 1986, which is a comprehensive law enacted by Parliament
conferring real and effective protection against various kinds of exploitation and
providing for speedy remedy for redressal of their grievances through the machinery of
a three-tier Quasi Judicial Tribunals. In the introductory chapter, the author has traced
the development of consumer protection movements and the history of consumer
legislations in different countries of the western world. This book contains
commentaries on the various sections of the Act with copious references to relevant
16
decisions of the Supreme Court of India. For the guidance of consumers author has
provided model forms of petition, appeal and order. This pioneer work on consumer
protection has really proved very useful for the present research.

Kulkarni and Desai (1994) states that till the early 1990’s banking industry in India was
a near-monopoly of the Government. In January 1993, the Reserve Bank of India issued
guidelines for licensing of new banks in the private sector. Since then, competition in
the banking sector has increased with the entry of private banks. Permission to foreign
banks to open new branches and relaxation of various restrictions on public sector
banks has allowed to access the capital market to raise funds. In view of enhanced
competition, the banking sector has taken strides towards computerization and
automation of their operations. This book has explained various developments in Indian
banking. More specifically, it deals with how the experts in banking field should take
decisions in the process of evaluating loan proposals particularly small scale industry
term loans.

Singh, Avtar (1994) has treated law of consumer protection as one of the most
important instrument of social justice. This book has examined the basic concepts and
definitions as used in the Consumer Protection Act 1986 in general terms. This book
has touched various fields of consumer goods and services and has analysed them
subject-wise depending upon the decisions delivered by the National and State
Commissions. In this book some practical notes have been provided for enabling the
readers to understand the way in which Consumer Courts are to be approached for the
purpose of getting their orders executed. This book has highlighted that the main
purpose of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is to afford some measures of protection
to the ultimate consumer of goods or users of services. He is of the view that consumers
must get what they are told they are getting. Consumers have got various remedies
against their exploitation. Besides discussing the remedies under the Consumer
Protection Act 1986, this book has also discussed remedies under the Sales of Goods
Act, 1930. The author has discussed the practical application of the Consumer
Protection Act, 1986 in detail. The author has virtually touched every type of services
within its jurisdiction with relevant case laws.

17
Kalakota and Whinston (1996) have introduced many facets of electronic Commerce
and their book is useful for any person who wants to understand the concept of e-
Commerce and recent changes taking place therein. It explains what electronic
Commerce is and what the various business strategies and management issues are. The
authors have argued that consumers or business professionals are not interested in
technology per se but in solutions to their problems. In emerging topics like electronic
commerce, the business and technological issues are becoming increasingly inseparable.
This book is divided into three parts. Part–I containing chapters one through five
discusses the network infrastructure and Information Superhighway (I-way). Part-II
containing chapter six through fifteen covers architectural framework for electronic
commerce and focus on the World Wide Web (www) as a technology infrastructure.
Consumer oriented electronic commerce is given in chapter seven and online electronic
payment system is described in chapter eighth. Other chapters under Part–II highlights
Inter-organizational electronic commerce, protocols related to Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI), interactive catalogue, directories, information search and other
relative methods. The last Part- III containing chapters sixteen to twenty one deals with
the technological building blocks used in the construction of e-Commerce application.
This book has not discussed legal issues as well as social consequences of e-Commerce
revolution.

Reddy (1997) in his book begins with an introduction to the concept of consumerism in
the ancient times. He states that in the good old days the consumers were governed by
the terms of contract which were more favourable to businessmen. As a result of
industrial revolution, there was a change in the entire scenario. Slowly and gradually the
consumer became aware of their rights and government has framed policies for their
protection. Number of protective legislations has been passed by the countries like
U.S.A and U.K. and India. It is stated that the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is a
watershed in the law relating to consumer protection in India. This book has enlightened
the researcher with its rich commentary on consumer protection and enormous case
laws.

Janardhan (1997) has viewed the concept of ‘electronic commerce’ in terms of its being
the key enabler of ‘rapid and predictable order fulfilment’ process. This is a major focus
18
of his book itself. This book is intended to describe the fundamentals of electronic
commerce in general and electronic data interchange in particular for different business
applications. The aim of this book is to make its readers understand the global business
environment, to identify the circumstances that consumers can control, to recognize the
tools to trust e-Commerce, to understand EDI and legal issues raised by the use of EDI.
In this book legal issue like validity of e-contracts, e-banking, online dispute resolutions
as well as jurisdiction matters have also been highlighted. The major emphasis of this
book is specifically on the managers and executives who are directly involved in
designing and implementing strategies for e-Commerce.

Pandey and Pandey (1998) have traced the foot prints of trade and commerce in ancient
India. Most of the books on Indian history either deal with northern history or southern
society. The few ones that cover the history of both regions are either too sketchy or too
widely. The present work aims at meeting the real needs of the students of Ancient
Indian History, Culture and Archaeology. This book also serves as a ground work of
history for the candidates of competitive examinations for the higher services. In case of
controversies different views have been quoted, beside the authors, for the readers to
determine their own preferences. This book has provided a great study of ancient Indian
history in its broad spectrum.

Dasgupta (1999) has provided insight into the liability of Banker-Customer relationship.
The relationship existing between a banker and his customer is primarily that of debtor
and creditor, the latter depositing with the former funds from time to time out of which
demands for payment in the form of cheques can be met. This relationship is governed
by many statutes like (a) Indian Contract Act, 1872, (b) Negotiable Instrument Act,
1881, (c) Indian Companies Act, 1956 and (d) Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The first
two statues i.e., Indian Contract Act, 1872 and the Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881deal
much more with the relationship between a banker and his/ her customer than the other
two Acts, i.e. Indian Companies Act, 1956 and the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 which
speak of mainly the constitution, organization and other parts of the banking business.

Turban et al. (2000) have clearly described what Electronic Commerce (EC) is, how it
is being conducted and managed, its major opportunities, limitations, issues and risks.

19
Electronic Commerce (EC) is an interdisciplinary topic, therefore, the authors have also
considered the interest of mangers, professional people in area of business world,
people in government, education, health services and consumers. This book is
structured around the notion that EC applications, such as home banking or electronic
fund transfers require certain technological infrastructures and other support
mechanisms. It is a comprehensive text that is divided into five parts composed of
twelve chapters with three appendices supplementing them. Part I- Introduction;
provides an overview of the entire book as well as the fundamentals of EC and its
terminology. Part II- Applications; describe various dimensions of EC application in six
chapters. Part III- Supporting Electronic Commerce explains various infrastructures and
mechanism under chapter seven and eighth. Corporate strategy towards EC, especially
planning, justification and implementation are treated in chapter nine. The last chapter
ten in this Part is dedicated to the issue of public policy, privacy, legal issues and ethics.
Part IV- Technological Infrastructure is covered in chapter eleven. This book concludes
with chapter twelve under Part V- Advanced EC Topics with a glance at the economics
of EC as well as at several other issues such as global EC, small businesses and EC
research. No legal aspect and rights of consumers are mentioned in this book.

Lloyd (2000) has put forth his views in his book from perspective of both non lawyers
and lawyers. For lawyers, he introduces basic legal concepts and explains how these
legal rules can be applied in the context of Internet- based activities. For non-lawyers,
this book describes some of the areas of technology in which the law is required to
operate. According to author Information technology is changing the world and the law
is no more immune from that process than any other aspect of life. The author has
expressed his views that it used to be common place for Internet enthusiast to regard
cyberspace as territory which was not subject to legal regulation. The principles derived
from the age of the industrial revolution are not necessary appropriate for a post-
industrial age or Internet age. While there is considerable room for debate concerning
the sustainability of law, people ignore its impact at their peril. Owners of intellectual
property rights are becoming increasingly vigilant in prosecuting instances of copyright
infringement. Above all, the explosion of interest in consumer activity in the field of
electronic commerce raises a whole host of legal risks and liabilities.

20
Thakur and Narayan (2000) have provided acumen on the concept of ‘Internet
Marketing’ and ‘Consumers Attitude’ toward change in era of business. They have
expressed that consumers are now increasingly becoming impatient to delays. They
seek immediate fulfilment of what they seek. On one hand, Information technology has
offered a vast variety of things to chose, however, on the other hand, it has raised new
legal issues in e-Commerce. The major issue in e-trade is the absence of a clear-cut
regulatory framework worldwide. e-Trade dissolves boundaries as it brings in paperless
dealings. Indistinct boundaries make it difficult to impose customs or other taxes on
goods and services traded over the Net. If orders are booked on the Net but there is
physical delivery of goods, taxation is possible. But how to tax a product that has been
delivered over the Net-Software consultancy services or other information is
unanswered. Some countries are looking for alternative sources of revenues are
planning to levy tariffs on global e-Commerce. This book has touched upon such
unsolved issues.

In this book it is clearly expressed by Edwards and Waelde (2000) that the regulation of
e-Commerce by law and other means is more than a moving target. It is not a book on
'How to do business on the Internet'. It attempts to describe, comment on and critique
the legal developments relating to Internet law and e-Commerce. This book deals firstly
with the vital components of entering e-business, such as electronic contracting,
authentication of digital transactions, data protection and Internet payment mechanisms,
moves on to look at the most important and relevant intellectual property concerns and
associated issues of Private International Law; and finally looks at the issue of Internet
context control, telecoms regulation and Internet Services Provider liability. This book
is focused on ‘Soft Law’ and ‘Trade practices’ of U.K., U.S.A., Australia and the
Countries of the European Union.

Diwan and Kapoor (2000) have focused on all the relevant legal issues related to e-
Commerce. They have explained that dramatic rise of the Internet and World Wide Web
(www) has transformed the way business is carried out with improved accuracy,
efficiency and speed. Today’s industrial economy is evolving into a new business
environment in which money, goods, services and information are exchanged
electronically. The big issue facing e-trade is the absence of a clear-cut regulatory
21
framework worldwide. India, with its complex regulatory framework needs to define
transparent rules for e-Commerce to keep pace with global growth. A number of issues
like taxation, tariffs, data protection, authentication, privacy and copy rights need to be
reviewed from the e-perspective. This is a new challenge for lawmakers. The author has
provided good literature on Consumer issues, Jurisdiction in cyber laws, Security
provisions in model agreements, Intellectual property, Illegal bargain, Negotiability and
various risks in e-Commerce transactions. The authors have appreciated the
organizations namely PMO, DoT, TRAI, IT Task Force, CII, FICCI, which has made
Internet accessible to everyone, because the backbone of all e-Commerce is Internet.
Focusing on the validity and enforceability of electronic commerce transactions this
book has considered legal and business principles relevant to electronic commerce.

The book of Forder and Quirk (2001) is enriched with knowledge on the topic of e-
Commerce and the law for its regulation. In the present research work, this book has
provided good literature on electronic payment system and cyber banking. The authors
have stated that anonymous, untraceable digital cash allows everyone to hide all or part
of their income. This book helps the researcher to understand the general functioning of
electronic payment system, risks posed by electronic payment systems and explains
electronic payment system regulations in Australia, United States and European Union.
The introduction of such payment systems has sometimes been accompanied by
exaggerated claims and unrealistic expectations, and this has aroused the attention of
regulators and other entities concerned with the well being and protection of end-users
of such products. The perceived risks associated with new modes of e-marketing have a
significant effect on consumer confidence. A debate has developed internationally over
whether the operation of such payment systems should be subject to regulation.
Consequently, different approaches and divergent policies have been adopted in
different jurisdictions. All these above mentioned issues are discussed in this book.

Norris and West (2001) have very beautifully discussed the concept of e-Business in
online market. According to them the 21st century is likely to be an ‘adapt or atrophy’
period for many organizations, both large and small, and those who do not embrace e-
Business may be consigned to history. Their book has several unique features: (1) It
brings together all of the essential technology that underpins e-Business and places it in
22
a useful context, (2) It is focussed on practical applications rather than technology per
se, (3) This book provides essential reading for those who are engaged in the
construction of e-business. It is recommended for anyone who intends to plan an e-
Business, (4) It provides a valuable professional updating guide for technical
architecture, software designers, telecommunication engineers as well as business and
information planners and (5) Not only from technical perspective, this book also
provides an insight into fundamentals of e-Trade in such a way that anyone curious to
learn about e-Commerce can understand it. Chapter one and two are introductory and
examines the electronic marketplace. Having established the nature of the marketplace,
chapter three thorough chapters nine add much of the detail and practical flavour for a
real e-Business implantation. Chapter ten shows opportunities and challenges that face
e-Business as it grows its legs. Chapter eleven shows how mobile-business is evolving.
Chapter twelve concludes the observations of author. Thus, this book provides as a
balanced and detailed guide for those who wish to take advantage of e-Commerce.

Books about the old economic rules of scale, scope, efficiency, market share and
vertical integration is no longer sufficient. New rules need to be applied and that
requires new organizational capabilities. Therefore, Kolakata and Robinson (2001) have
concentrated on practical aspects of e-Business so that it can help senior management to
make plans and manage e-business investments. The authors have started by dissecting
the critical practices of companies that have pursued an e-business operating model to
reach the top. The first five chapters of this book describe new e-business design
composed of building blocks called enterprise applications. This book offers a way to
structure this widespread strategy problem, slice it into manageable pieces, and create
actionable plans that can be executed quickly. Chapters’ six to eleven explore the
various e-business design elements in the new e-corporation. The goal is to identify
clear, rational, strategic, design and choices that are responsive to evolving customer
needs. The last three chapters are prescriptive, focusing on the challenges of becoming
digital by describing the design process and explaining how to undertake it. This book
contains no legal and consumer oriented issues relating to e-Commerce.

Hedley (2001) states that ‘Internet Law’ and ‘Electronic Commerce Law’ are new
entities and there is some difficulty in defining this rapidly changing area of law. This
23
text helps the students to unravel this complicated area of law and provide guidance
through the wealth of literature available on the topic of e-Commerce. The first part of
the book focuses on the principles of electronic commerce law and includes an
introduction to the law of the Internet, basic concepts in Intellectual Property, Privacy
and Data protection. The second part of this book deals with rights and duties in the
online world including, liabilities, ownership and contracts. This text book is ideal for
researchers of e-Commerce law. This book includes contents on protecting data and
system Integrity, ownership of data, rights of data subjects, ownership of domain
names, online contracts, online consumer law, electronic money, banking, contract
enforcement and dispute resolution etc. This book helps the researcher to understand the
complicated issues involved in commerce in Cyber world.

Ryder (2002) has analysed the application of intellectual property law in relation to the
Internet and new media in India. In a fundamental respect, the international character of
electronic commerce raises questions for the nature of traditional legal systems, in
general, and intellectual property law, in particular. The author has analysed both the
intellectual property and e-commerce) on notions of sovereignty and territoriality. The
Internet, in contrast, largely ignores distinctions based on territorial borders. This text is
an analysis of the evolving relationship between electronic commerce and intellectual
property. This evolution is taking place within technological and commercial
environment characterized and dominated by exponential change. The legal structure
and its implementation have been discussed elaborately in this book. The aim of author
seems to commence with the definition of the issues and responses, with a view to
examine those developments that have already begun to occur, and those that would
appear most relevant and imminent within the next several years.

Miller and Jentz (2002) have conducted comparative study of various legal systems
which are struggling to keep up with the changes occurring in the online world. Never
before has the law had to be adapted so quickly to new business practices. Yet, in the
last few years, a body of rules and regulations for e-Commerce has evolved. Old laws
have been in the process of adapting to the online world and consequently, new
legislation is passed. They provide the framework for the law of e-Commerce by
depicting a mini-course in legal environment. A thorough understanding of offline and
24
online marketing environment is given. Not surprisingly, because e-Commerce is so
new, controversies with respect to how the law should be applied to the online world is
bound to emerge. Therefore, all controversial issues in the online world are discussed in
detail. Special e-Guidelines are given so that business men can avail the benefits of e-
Commerce.

According to Bakshi (2002) new vistas of knowledge and application of technology has
compelled the society to enter into e-Commerce. Electronic commerce provides an
enormous business opportunity globally through the use of digital technology. The
digital technology has provided effective communication platform to communicate to
customers directly that is why it is often called direct or online marketing. The
regulation of e-Commerce technologies requires intervention of laws so that online
Commerce can flourish. This book is a modest attempt to look at the various issues
related to development of legislation in various countries of the world. The author has
explored the genesis of Information Technology law, various rules, regulations and
legal enactments for it.

Reed (2004) has highlighted the common fallacies regarding Internet from legal
perspective and attempted to clarify them. According to him the common fallacy
regarding cyberspace is that Internet is a new jurisdiction, in which none of the existing
rules and regulations apply. However, according to him the Internet, rather than being
unregulated, is in fact the most heavily regulated ‘place’ in the world. A global view of
the fundamental legal issue raised by the advent of the Internet as an international
communication mechanism is taken. The book adopts a bottom-up method of analysis
i.e. Firstly it identifies the new types of activities which appeal to fall outsides existing
categories of law, then assesses the application of existing law to cover those activities
and what results it produces, and finally evaluates the global consensus (if any) which
appears to be emerging as to how those new activities should be addressed by the law.
In this book Internet law is discussed in both technical and economic context.

Rao (2004) primarily introduces array of issues which confront the evolving patterns
and trends of cyber crimes. At the same time the author has infused related global
developments so that the contextual requirement receives attention from different

25
quarters across the globe. This book gives immense information about cyber crimes,
nature of criminal conduct involved in cyber crimes, different dimensions of
Information technology, criminological insight with regard to cyber crimes, analysis of
legal responses in different countries and international initiatives to combat cyber
crimes. In this book author has discussed, in a very crystal clear way, investigatory
procedure of cyber crimes, computer forensics and solution of conflicts relating to
Human Rights in cyberspace.

Verma and Mittal (2004) in their pioneer book entitled ‘Legal Dimensions of
cyberspace’ discusses various laws as they apply to cyberspace. The authors elucidate
legal framework for e-Commerce, contracts, intellectual property, data protection,
privacy and crimes in cyberspace. The book is divided into three parts: Part-I deals with
IP protection in the cyber world, Part-II deals with e-Commerce including online
contracts whereas Part-III deals with the regulations of the cyber world particularly in
context of the Information Technology Act, 2000 viz.- the Computer crimes, Cyber
privacy and Online dispute resolutions etc. This book has highlighted that the cyber
manthan has bestowed many gifts to humanity but they come with unexpected pitfalls
too. Law as the regulator of human behaviour has made an entry into the cyberspace
and is trying to cope with its manifold challenges. So, the authors have stated that, the
question is not ‘whether law applies to the Internet’- rather it is ‘how law is applicable
to the Internet’. The present book elucidates the concepts of e-Commerce, payment
mechanism, copyright law, Intellectual property Right, cyber privacy, trademark issues,
computer crimes and online dispute resolution. It has also given purview of the
Information Technology Act, 2000 very systematically.

Saxena (2004) has sincerely attempted to acquaint the reader with all basic concepts,
preliminaries for creating business models, world wide web and the Internet. He makes
a detailed discussion on impact of e-Commerce in payment systems of banking industry
and presents future of new payment systems like digitized e-cash, clearing systems,
Cheques and Credit Cards, ATMs, Smart Cards etc., etc. which has facilitated fast
payments and settlements. In addition to elaborate presentations of Business-to-
Business and Business-to-Consumer e-Commerce scenario and future trends, the author

26
has also made through investigation into growth of e-Commerce and future potential
along with risks in the electronic commerce.

Sharma (2004) has traced the technological development of business from the history of
business developments. Whenever and whoever touches a computer, computer system
or computer network or any other computer resource, he/she is within the ambit of the
Information Technology Act, 2000. In this book the Information Technology Act, 2000
has been read in relation to other codes, Acts, rules and regulations. First part of the
book is centred on commentary of the Act and practical application of the law rather
than merely theoretical one. The second part of the book looks at global issues of
Jurisdiction, Defamation, Freedom of expression, Electronic taxation and Intellectual
Property Right. In this book author has discussed both global and Indian perspective in
a very systematic and lucid manner. The author has touched all the important aspects of
Cyber law and Information Technology.

Canzer (2005) in his book entitled ‘e-Business and Commerce: Strategic Thinking and
Practice’ presents a comprehensive overview of the fundamental concepts, vocabulary
and strategic thinking taking place in e-business today. The text emphasizes on
analytical and critical approach to understand strategic decision making so that learners
can plan for their own organizations. Module I entitled- A Framework for
Understanding e-Business containing chapters one, two, three, four presents a map for
exploring e-business and understanding how business activity on the Internet has
evolved into what it is today. Module II entitled- Strategic Business Planning for the
Internet containing chapters five, six, seventh, eighth introduces the strategic business
planning process in great detail. Attention is focused on the three key components of
strategic planning namely research, analysis and the formulation of an e-business plan.
Managerial aspect is given in detail. Module III entitled- Implementing the e-Business
Plan containing chapters nine, ten and eleven link the strategic thinking concepts
generated in the e-business planning process with the specific marketing, management
and financial plans of action. The final chapter twelve brings closure to the entire
planning process by looking at how the e-business plan can be integrated into an
organization’s current structure, and then controlled, measured and evaluated for future
decision making.
27
Singh, Justice Yatindra (2005) has divided his work on Cyber Laws into two parts. Part-
I deals with the different aspects of cyber laws with discussions on various topics,
controversies and their possible solutions. Foreign statues and their references on the
Internet have also been cited. Part-II contains relevant Acts, Rules, Notifications and
Circulars etc. For the proper analysis of cyber laws, the author lucidly explains the
science behind the technology in order to sort out the legal issues. This book is an asset
for companies dealing in computer software or providing software solutions, web page
providers, Internet Service providers, Banks, Insurance companies, other bodies
providing online services, departments implementing Information technology, police
official dealing with investigation of cyber-crimes, teachers, students, lawyers,
researchers and Judges. For this research purpose, chapter one and Chapter ten, eleven,
twelve are very useful. Chapter one deals with the historical background of the
Information Technology Act, 2000 with reference to various sections of this Act.
Chapter ten deal with concept of e-Commerce and Taxation. The author has also
discussed grey areas in law relating to cyberspace in chapter eleven. In chapter twelve
he has explained that how Information Technology can help the legal system for the
solution of various challenges posed by e-revolution.

Ryder (2007) has written his book as a ‘study course’ in Internet law and policy. This
comprehensive guide addresses many legal issues raised by complex cross-technology
transactions. A very wonderful fact has been highlighted by the author and that is that
the Internet is principally a medium; which can be regulated by regulating its “layers”.
According to him for a law to be effective must apply to one or more “layers” – (a) the
physical (the wires, hardware, the ‘device’ itself); (b) the digital (the code or the
“spectrum”); and (c) the “content” (which prohibit socially censored comments or
proprietary material). This book contains chapters on Law and Policy in ‘Indian’
cyberspace, the Architecture of the Internet, Jurisdiction in cyberspace, Legal challenge
to Internet Banking, Consumer confidence, Data Protection, e-Commerce, Cybercrime,
Managing legal risks when promoting a business online, Defamation on the Internet,
Insurance and Internet, e-business models and much more on regulatory aspects of
Internet. This book has given all the information on ‘cyber-law’ very systematically and
clearly. In the end, RBI Internet Banking report has been attached as guidelines on e-

28
Banking security. The book has also provided information on legal and regulatory
aspects of telecommunication in India and the Indian Communications Convergence
Regulatory Scheme. Therefore, this is a comprehensive book containing relevant
information on ‘Cyber Law’.

Kamath (2007) has provided fruitful information for the present research topic and
reveals that the Internet itself has been a gold mine for research and information
collection, without which things would have been much more difficult. The author has
written this book in the quest for the principles on which sound legal structure must be
based. It explores the manner in which whole gamut of laws must adopt themselves to
usher in the Information age. Each essay is a self contained piece to show the need for a
new law in cyberspace for the regulation of various challenges of Internet.

Gay, Charlesworth and Esen (2007) have provided a stimulating insight into the recent
developments and their origin in online marketing practice. The practical nature of this
text entitled ‘Online Marketing: A Customer-Led Approach’ gives a thought-provoking
study for marketers involved in online marketing management. The philosophy of this
book explores the connection between human and technology. Authors have explained
that marketing is about satisfying customers but a changing emphasis from transactional
to a relational approach has emerged and as a result society has experienced an
unprecedented period of technological advancement with the Internet and other digital
media. In this book chapters one, two and three provide an overview of Internet history,
new marketing considerations and the strategic online planning process. Chapters four
and five provide essential knowledge and skills relating to online marketing research
and buyer behaviour. Chapter six covers search engine marketing. Chapter seven and
eighth cover the role of online relationship marketing and how it can be supported by
customer friendly website design. Chapter nine, ten, eleven and twelve cover the
elements of the marketing mix and how they are affected by, and applied to, the online
medium. Concluding chapter thirteen covers online legal issues in online marketing. In
this book legal aspect of online marketing is not much discussed.

Lim (2007) in his research covers all core cyberspace law topics comprehensively and
clearly. His work has made it easy to understand all the aspects of Law of Cyberspace.

29
Cyberspace law works through Internet concepts and jargon, and places the legal issues
in their social context. The conceptual approach behind this book ensures that it will
remain relevant even as the law changes. This second edition of Cyberspace Law brings
the complex issues of the Internet to students and practitioners. This book is divided
into fourteen chapters. It contains ample of literature on the nature of Internet,
jurisdiction issues on the Internet, electronic contracting and its legal consequences,
privacy on the Internet, various dimensions of privacy in EU, United States and
Singapore, encryption, electronic signatures, Internet crimes, National cybercrime laws
of Australia and Singapore and Internet content regulation relating to Internet
pornography. It also discusses Copyright issues on the Internet, Trade Mark law,
Patents on the Internet, Australian and Singapore legislation on spam, Internet taxation
and online role-playing games respectively. The focus on Australian and Singaporean
content within the global framework provides relevant knowledge about legal
mechanism in Australian and Asia-Pacific regions. For the present research this text has
provided good information on various issues of cyber law.

Gordon and Natarajan (2008) have identified issues regarding banking theory in law.
The banking scenario in India is changing fast to keep pace with the International
banking practice. As a result, the banks in India have been asked to meet specific
standards such as Capital Adequacy Norms, Classification of Assets, Income
Recognition Norms etc. Further, new directions have been issued to bring the NBFCs
under strict control and to improve their financial health. The ‘Banking Ombudsman
Scheme’ has been introduced to protect the interest of the depositors. Many reforms
have taken place so as to enable the banks to function with improved financial strength
and functional efficiency. It is also stated that the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 has
been amended recently with a view to enhance the acceptability of cheques and thus,
has improved the efficiency of banking operations. All these developments have been
duly accommodated in this book.

According to Jain (2008) Information Technology (IT) and digitalization are integral
elements woven into the virtual fabric of today’s society. His book entitled ‘The War
against Cyber Crimes’ has opening chapter on ‘Cyber Terrorism’. Cyber-terrorism is a
bitter reality in the modern age of rapid technological advancements. As fast as new
30
technology is established, people find ways to hack and corrupt it. Many times there is
malicious intent behind such actions. These acts can include everything from computer
viruses to contraband networks servers to pirated IP addresses and credit account fraud.
In India cyber crimes are slowly evolving from a simple e-mail crime to more serious
crimes like hacking and source code theft. Most of the viruses are meant to be detected;
it is a high-tech game of cat and mouse between the hackers and the tech security
groups. To prevent this, the author has advocated the 5P mantra for online security:
Precaution, Prevention, Protection, Preservation and Preference. It is mentioned in this
book that most of the times the victims do not complain, may be because they are not
aware of the extent of the crime committed against them, or, sometimes, may be they
don’t want to confess that their system is not secure. Therefore, it is suggested by the
author of this book that users must save all electronic transactions on their computers,
until laws become more stringent or technology becomes more advanced.

Joseph and S.J. (2008) have framed their opinions on the fact that the impact of
electronic revolution on the economy is much more profound than that caused by the
Industrial revolution. This book begins with the history of e-Commerce; in particular, it
focuses on e-transaction challenges for Indian corporate. The recent as well as the
projected statistics concerning the growth of the Internet are described. The author has
analysed different business transaction models in Internet, growth of web-enabled
technologies in e-business, strategies of e-marketing with real world examples of
popular web-sites, mechanism on e-security and e-payment, tactics for creating and
maintaining supply chain management, e-strategies and mobile-Commerce. Thus, the
authors have dealt with several upcoming threats posed by web in his book and he has,
in the end, concluded that network study is difficult, but the patience and adequate legal
procedure can yield remarkable insights.

Chhabra, Suri and Verma (2008) have depicted that the ripples of the new world of e-
Commerce and e-business (new vistas for business) can be seen in India. e-Commerce
has been accepted as one of the emerging business strategy. The authors have discussed
each and every minute aspect of e-Commerce. This book is unique in terms of its
coverage, approach and treatment of the key life cycle of e-business in the emerging
hastened pace of technological convergence. It explains the impact of Internet on
31
business and commercial world. It explains how to utilize Internet to promote business
in the global world. It throws light on how to plan, design and launch e-business, what
technology is needed for doing business on the Net, what ethical and legal factors are to
consider, how to ensure security and integrity of data traffic through encryption,
firewalls and other electronic devices. The special feature of this book is its coverage of
the Information Technology Act, 2000, online Banking, customer satisfaction,
challenges of online education and training. It has provided fruitful information in this
research work. In conclusion, the authors have raised several legal as well as business
related issues that affect the development of e-marketing.

Singh, Alwyn Didar (2008) has expressed that the reality of e-Commerce for
developing countries is both fact and vision. In the context of Information technology
and e-Commerce, India is like a beacon on the horizons of the new digital age. This
book has attempted to provide answer to many questions like: How did India absorbs
this new revolution? What lessons are there in the Indian context for other developing
countries? What policy initiatives are still required? This book has been organized in
seven chapters. The introductory chapter explains fundamentals of electronic commerce
and the Internet. Chapter two traces the relationship between the Information and
Communication technologies and development. Chapter three deals with significant
issues of e-Commerce in context of developing countries. Chapter four shifts attention
from history to practices. It is based on research and analysis of the actual experience
with policy and strategy of e-Commerce development and implementation across 15
developing countries. Chapter five outlines the strategy and managements of e-
Commerce in India. In chapter six this book again shifts focus on e-Governance in
India. The last chapter ends with summary, findings and conclusions.

Verma (2009) presents a modest work on the newly emerging field of crime namely
Cyber Crimes. This book has traced the history and background of the birth of
cyberspace. A very detailed discussed has been made on the nature of cyber crime,
concepts of actus reus and mens rea in cybercrime, the problem of legalities in national
and international regimes. The concepts of Cyber Terrorism, Cyber Tort, Civil Wrong
and Civil liability have been explained very clearly. This book covers almost all the
important aspects of Cyberspace, Information Technology, benefits of new Internet
32
revolution as well as types of cyber crimes in detail with important case laws. This book
provides very fruitful information on cyber law from various social as well as legal
aspects.

Mehta and Mehta (2009) have provided useful knowledge on various aspects relating to
credit cards and their effect on e-Information society and our day-to-day life. According
to them law does not stand still. It keeps on changing. Especially specified branch of
banking laws covering credit cards has seen many changes in past few years. The
usages of credit cards have tremendously been increased and so are the troubles faced
by both bankers and consumers. This book contains chapters on Money and Plastic
Money, types of Credit Cards, Smart Cards, Features of a Card, Risks faced by Credit
Card Industry, Comparison of various types of cards available in market, Credit card
fraud investigation and criminal law for dealing with these frauds. The authors have
compiled enormous information on various issues relating to credit cards in this book.
An overview of Indian legislation dealing with frauds to credit cards has been given.
The authors have provided crucial suggestions for secure e-Banking transactions.

Seth (2009) in her book highlighted various legal aspects relating to cyber laws very
beautifully. It begins with the fact that in today’s world, Information Technology
governs different facets of our daily lives. Be it the service industry including Banks,
Universities, Airlines, Medical industry and other business establishments. In the
emerging e-Information society every aspect of life is powered by e-speed. This book
has explored the cyberspace by steering a journey through the origin of cyberspace,
discussing its growing significance in day to day life and familiarizing the readers with
its techno-legal jargon. The author has focused on all the important issues like:
Emerging legal issues in the virtual world, Contractual issues in cyberspace, Non-
contractual issues in cyberspace, Torts and Jurisdiction issues in cyberspace, European
approach to personal jurisdiction, the formation of e-Contracts, e-payment system and
various frauds in e-banking, credit cards, e-money, e-checks and e-money laundering.
The author has discussed International as well as National legal frameworks on e-
Commerce protection and security. This book has discussed all the important challenges
before Indian judiciary in the lap of cyberspace.

33
The focus of Laudon and Traver (2009) is on the new breed of e-Commerce services
that have emerged in the new millennium. The new online services provide social
networking, video and photo-sharing and communication services. New sites such as
Facebook, My Space, Photobucket, Youtube and many others have grown explosively
in the last two years. This book is organized into four parts. Part-I, entitled
“Introduction to E-Commerce”, provides an introduction to the e-Commerce and its
impact on society. Chapter two introduces and defines the concepts of business model
and revenue model for B2C and C2B firms. Part-2, entitled “Technology Infrastructure
for E-Commerce,” focuses on the technology infrastructure that forms the foundation of
all e-Commerce. Chapter three traces the historical development of Internet and
thoroughly describes how today Internet works is. Chapter five focuses on Internet
security and payments, building on the e-Commerce infrastructure discussion by
prescribing the ways with which security can be provided over the Internet. Part-3,
entitled “Business Concepts and Social Issues,” focuses directly on the business
concepts and socio-legal issues that surround the development of e-Commerce. Chapter
six focuses on e-Commerce consumer behaviour, Internet audience and marketing
strategies. Chapter seven and eighth provides through introduction to the social and
legal environment of e-Commerce. Part-4 of this book entitled “E-Commerce in
Action”, focuses on real-world e-Commerce experiences. Therefore, this book has
provided very fruitful information for the present research work.

Fatima (2011) has named ‘cyber revolution’ as ‘silicon revolution’. The author states
that the silicon revolution has deep impact on the criminal law infrastructure whereby it
has straddled national boundaries and has coalesced from a tribal dictate to a
conglomerate mass of rules. The prodigious Internet has become a modality of cultural
and legal transmission and as a result, blowing international boundaries, fading legal
frontiers and the power of software architecture has expanded the locus of crime to the
farthest fringes of the globe. Cybercrimes represent the latest generation of crimes
whereby the electronic onslaught has narrowed down the legal latitude and the entire
criminal legal infrastructure the world over is facing legal, technical, political and
operational challenges. Chapter I of this book deals with the ‘Communication Story’
that introduces the background in which the entire online activity is carried on. Chapter

34
two, entitled ‘Nature of Cybercrimes’ introduces the crime concept in the primitive
society and its journey to the present day information society. Chapter III, entitled
‘Taxonomy of Cyber Crimes’, chalks out the typology and conceptualization of
cybercrimes by highlighting the difficulties in defining elusive terms. Chapter four,
entitled ‘Pure Cybercrimes’ explains crimes that are the typical form of cybercrimes.
Chapter Five, entitled ‘Legal Liability in cyberspace: Infringers and Criminals in Legal
Entrenchment’ explores and examines the most important facet of criminal liability of
offenders. Chapter six discusses about electronic signatures and crime, Chapter seven,
discusses the legal complexities in prosecuting cyber criminals and chapter eight
enumerates the various legal measures taken to prevent and control cybercrimes.
Therefore, the author has provided all relevant information on cyber crimes in India in
this text book.

Alghamdi (2011) has deduced factors that customers perceive to be the most important
while purchasing online. This book seeks to achieve several goals. First, since the
Internet is growing so rapidly, e-Commerce is open to every person and every company
around the world, which in turn raises fundamental questions concerning the legality of
online transactions, fraud, and forgery. Second, the changes effected by new
technologies generally and computers specifically are not trivial, they are substantial
and demand legal consideration. These changes have influenced specific areas of
substantive and procedural law, which have implications for computers (e-evidence, e-
contract, intellectual property and so on). In this book continuing technological
advances have been discussed that are affecting consumers. This book has analyzed
very important legal issues that confront the application of the Internet to commercial
purposes in the field of evidence and contract laws. A special attention has been given
to current topics concerning e-Commerce, namely e-evidence, e-contracts and e-
business. It concentrates mostly on UK and US court decisions and rulings. While
focusing on the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce (Model Law), this
work also considers International instruments, namely, the United Nations Convention
on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), the Principles of European
Contract Law (PECL), and the UNIDROIT (The International Institute for the
Unification of Private Law) principles of International Commercial Contracts

35
 ARTICLES

Hassan (1974) has mentioned that consumerism as a movement would remain a weak
slogan as long as public confidence is not restored in the administrative and
enforcement machinery of Governments and as long as voluntary public co-operation
remain dormant. Consumers as well as producers should be conscious of their rights.
The author has suggested that sellers should be mindful of their responsibilities toward
honesty. There is a need of watchful public to discourage the wrong practices in market
so that the consumers feel safe.

Gupta and Lodha (1976) have pointed out in their paper that consumer sovereignty has
remained Utopian idea, since consumers all over the world are grossly suffered in the
hands of businessmen in one form or other. Consumer awareness is higher in Western
countries like the USA than in India; where the consumer in general is apathetic. Now-
a-days the only remedy to protect consumer is their awareness about their rights. The
voice of an individual is always lost in the wilderness of indifferences. It is concluded
by authors that there is an urgent need for a network of really effective consumer
organization in the country to safeguard the interests of consumers. In addition to
statutory enactments, consumer’s involvement to protect them is a must.

In this paper Reddy and Murthy (1978) have reflected that consumers have to play a
major role in protecting themselves from the clutches of businessmen. First of all they
must know their rights as consumers. Secondly, they should not hesitate to exercise
their rights. They must inculcate in themselves the spirit of co-operation and self-help
and they must be aware of all the laws, which are enacted by the Government in this
regard. In India consumers are not aware of their rights. The authors assert that
consumer organizations must educate consumers and make them alert and vigilant
citizens.

Neelakanta and Ananda (1987) have expressed that all around the world, consumer is
being exploited either by the producer of goods and services or by the distributors. This
article has highlighted various modes of exploitation of consumers by sellers. Several
examples have been quoted. The focus of this article is on cheatings with consumer
products in physical market. The only solution would be educating consumers to

36
develop a vigilant attitude among them and protect themselves from shoddy market
practices. The authors have stressed on the need of collective vigilance to overcome
exploitation by the producer and seller.

Singh, S.N. (1987) has presented a critical analysis of the consumer protection
legislations in India. An analysis of present laws for consumer protection is made in
detail. It is expressed that present legislations have failed to safeguard the interests of
consumers in almost all areas. A good discussion is given on various enactments, their
scope, enforcement, procedure and provisions. It is concluded that the inadequacy and
lethargic response of Consumer Forums and Commissions established under the
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 has been the major reason of malpractices in market.

Panigrahi (1992) believes that in spite of the many measures; legislative and
administrative, consumer protection still remains a myth. Consumers are exploited quite
often. Consumer is on easy prey to the commercial and industrial leviathans wielding
economic and political power. In a society like India where there is bulk of illiterate
people who are still suffering from poverty, the battle for consumer protection has to be
fought on different fronts. The effectiveness of the consumer protective legislations
would be diminished, if the consumers were not aware of their rights and remedies.
Therefore, education of consumers through the mass media is very much necessary to
make them conscious of their rights and of the legislative measures.

According to Clarke (1996) organized criminal groups use telecommunications to

facilitate their criminal enterprises. Various forms of telecommunication frauds are
committed by these groups to gain access to free and sometimes untraceable
telecommunication. This paper has discussed various telecommunication frauds like
Calling Card Fraud, Remote Access Fraud and Call-Sell operations fraud etc., etc.
These frauds have a world–wide impact. With computer networks hooked on to
telecommunication channels, electronic mail, voice mail and telephone calls through
phone cards are becoming common. These facilities are subjected to frauds.
Telecommunication frauds are today indistinguishable from computer frauds. Computer
criminals such as hackers break into a computerized telecommunication network and
make long distance calls through remote access or they may create havoc to computer

37
systems to which the telecommunication lines may be connected. The primary concern
of the crime group is for anonymous and untraceable communication. The author has
concluded that the role of law enforcement in combating telecommunication fraud is
multidimensional. They must be in a position to investigate suspicious activity once it
has been identified by the industry. They must respond to complaints which they
receive directly as well as to react towards criminal activity which is identified through
criminal investigations.

Hoskote (1996) has investigated security parameters in electronic banking with special
reference to consumers. According to him the evolution from barter system to gold,
then from paper money to plastic money has taken the society today to electronic cash,
electronic banking, electronic fund transfer and automated teller machines.
Computerisation in the banking and financial sectors is taking place in India. The
author, a banker, examines various aspects of crime and security in electronic banking
and electronic fund transfer. Several cases are cited to indicate the modus operandi of
these criminals. The use of Information Technology in the financial sector has its
associated perils, however, an appropriate computer security policy can ward off major
problems. It is highlighted that the usage of Information technology cannot be limited
due to associated perils. An appropriated computer security policy may help the users of
Information technology to meet the challenges. The author has expressed that systems
and the people who control security equipments are bound to fail sometimes. Total
security is not only impractical but also unaffordable. Instead, what is aimed at is an
acceptable level of failure which may vary from system to system. A prudent level of
education can reduce threats in Information Technology.

Subramanian (1996) states that the Information technology is being used in all sectors
of the economy including Industry, Commerce and Service sectors (Government as well
as Private). With liberalization and globalization of the Indian economy, computer-
based information systems are catching up. The legal and security implications of this
globalization of information are being examined by the author. A plethora of
legislations in India like the Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881, the Indian Telegraph Act,
1885 the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and the Companies Act, 1956 require
recasting to accommodate these new changes. The author has stated that major steps
38
have been taken in India in the direction of implementation of Information technology
in vital sector of economy, management and development. This throws up various
security issues involved in the implementation of the same especially considering the
fact that India is a vast country of multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-lingual citizens
with various levels of development and exposure to knowledge. Judicial system is
undergoing a reforming process and these judicial reforms are necessary to reduce the
time taken between inception of cases and the final judgement. This article has
suggested that the Indian judiciary needs to be trained to understand the legal
implications of high-tech-oriented system and techniques.

Joseph (1998) has expressed that in olden times consumer was the most important
person in the economic and social set up of a country. It was appropriate to consider
him a King. However, today consumer is at crossroads. The consumer is the forgotten
man of the modern Indian economy. He is generally taken for granted as one who has
any how to buy in order to live. In India, the problem of exploitation of the people by
the people or even by the government is rampant. The politician, in the name of serving
the country, is seen exploiting the society, the administrator is seen exploiting its
resources and the seller of goods and services is seen exploiting the consumers. The
author has discussed in detail the provisions of Indian Constitution for consumer
protection, various enactments on consumer protection, role of Public Interest Litigation
(PIL) in consumer protection and importance of consumer education. The role of
voluntary consumer organizations in the protection of consumer interests has also been
discussed. The author has concluded that consumer protection is, above all, about
people. It is people who struggle for protection. It is impossible to bring justice without
active involvement of people. All of us, as individuals and groups, as organizations and
governments must work together in order to curb exploitation.

Rajagopalan (1999) has discussed the actual realm of commercial banking in Indian
scenario. According to him electronic banking is an off shoot of such innovative
developments. In India, most of the new private sector banks such as ICICI bank,
HDFC etc., are already in the forefront making wonderful use of the way the banking is
carried out. This article has discussed e-Banking revolution, emerging trends in banking
and mobile banking. The author has concluded that with Internet revolution power has
39
been shifted from the seller to the buyer. The success of future banking sector
exclusively lies with the information boom.

Nanada and Tewari (2000) have put forward very useful information for present
research. The authors have expressed that information storage and information access
has been greatly simplified, first with the advent of computers and then with the
emergence of computer networking. Information technology is an outcome of the nexus
between the computer technology and the communication technology. This has resulted
in eliminating the constraints of distance and time in long distance computer
communication. The Internet has provided an efficient method of instantaneous
exchange of information across the globe. Due to ever increasing power of Information
technology and computers, the 21st century has witnessed an unprecedented spurt in
white-collar crimes which are perpetrated through ingenious means. Crime on the
‘Information Highways’ is multifaceted. Various arms of law enforcement agencies
especially the forensic scientists have to get suitably geared up with a view to handle
the impending challenges effectively.

Reed and Davies (2000) have highlighted that the advent and subsequent growth of the
Internet has made electronic commerce a very fashionable topic, both in terms of
Business-to-Consumer sales and, increasingly, Business-to-Business electronic
Commerce. It is depicted by the authors that electronic commerce is not a new
phenomenon. Prior to the development of commercial use of the Internet, other
technologies based on private or closed electronic networks were already in use to
provide electronic communications between commercial entities which in turn were
used to enter into binding agreements or contracts. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), a
system of electronic communications between commercial parties was perhaps the most
commonly used technology. This article has discussed various relevant issues on e-
Commerce like contract formation, evidential problems, payment, online
advertisements and jurisdiction matters in e-Commerce. It has been concluded that the
law governing electronic commerce in all of its flavours is very much in its infancy.

Sharma and Vera (2000) are of the opinion that in the age of Internet, the satellite
explosion, globalization and third millennium, consumer movement in India has also

40
built inroads in all walks of human life. It is not only a struggle for protecting consumer
rights through legal system but a continuous social, economic and protective action for
both identifying the areas of injustices and its remedy through various forms of
organized efforts. The authors have expressed that the Indian banking industry stands at
the cross roads today. In banks there is mismatch between what is expected, what is
promised and what is actually given in forms of cost and service. The declining quality
of services has also come in for sharp criticism by the customers, consumer activists,
consumer voluntary organizations, media and press. There is an urgent need for
customer-oriented banking in India. It is concluded by the authors that pressure of
‘Consumerism’ should be put on banking industry so that it can adopt to new culture: a
disciplined, professional and with committed as well as trained human resources. This
paper has highlighted the power of ‘Consumerism’ so as to make banking facilities
consumer friendly.

Saxena and Bhat (2000) outlines that today’s age is an age of connectivity as it has
reduced distances and brings people closer. This could be attributed to the development
of communication technology. Some economists say that the new economy may be
called the “nude economy” because the Internet has made it more transparent and
exposed. This paper discusses the growth of electronic commerce and its various legal,
social, environmental, technological, taxation and International issues. This paper has
concluded that there are some issues which are unattended till today like taxation in e-
Commerce, imposition of duty on cross-border transaction and Intellectual property
rights. However, the overall impact of global e-Commerce is positive for the Indian
environment as it has opened new opportunities in all sectors of education, business and
technology. In order to compete globally, entrepreneurs are making the use of e-
Commerce to the maximum in order to reap the benefits. It is recommended by authors
that the excitement of reaping benefits through e-Commerce will help the economy in
next coming years and it is high time that India should act fast and decisively in order to
use the growing electronic trade to our advantage.

The tremendous growth of technology has revolutionised all walks of life. The affect is
much larger in the area of trade and commerce where technology has played an
important role in the global operations. Electronic commerce has accelerated the growth
41
of trade across the globe. Kishore (2001) has expressed that shifting of marketing focus
on the consumers, emergence of relationship oriented marketing and continuous effort
of the firm to serve the customers much better has given new dimension and scope to
the electronic commerce. This paper has highlighted that surging growth of IT sector;
encouraging responses from business communities and firm commitment by
government have led to significant growth of e-Commerce in India. India is having a
great potential in the area of e-production, e-retailing, e-marketing, e-education and e-
distribution etc. It is suggested by author that government must create conducive
environment to exploit the maximum opportunity so as to catch the race of growing
trade of e-Commerce.

Malawar (2001) has demonstrated the fact that we are still in the early stages in meeting
the challenges to traditional territorially based political and legal systems posed by
inherently borderless communications and Internet technologies. The challenge
confronting the global trading system is to develop an International structure that
supports growth of global electronic commerce for all. This article reviews recent
developments concerning global governance of e-Commerce and Internet trade. In
addition to identifying and examining recent actions of the United States, this article
concludes that there is a growing awareness for uniform global action. Particularly, this
article summarizes the actions and developments from 1998 to the early 2001, taken by
the United States, the European Union and major International Institutions concerning
global governance of e-Commerce and Internet trade. It begins with a look at the United
States and the European Union and addresses developments at the World Trade
Organisation (WTO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the U.N. Commission for Trade and
Development (UNCTAD).

Chaudhary (2001) has begun by saying that the evolution of new and fast
communication systems and electronic digital technology has changed the face of
worldwide business. The traditional ways of conducting business are being outmoded
and to certain extent, in future, may be obsolete with the emergence of e-Commerce.
The paperless electronic transactions have made it necessary that new laws, rules and
42
regulations must be framed to deal with the drastic changes which have occurred on
account of the introduction of vast communication systems and digital technology for
carrying on the business and other commercial transactions. The industries as well as
the consumers are frequently using computer to transmit and store information in
electronic form instead of written documents. In order to legalize and recognize
transactions via Internet, e-Commerce and electronic governance, India has enacted the
Information Technology Act, 2000 under the guidance of UNCITRAL Model Law,
1996. In this article, the provisions of the IT Act, 2000 have been discussed in detail. In
end, the study has concluded that after reading all the provisions of the Act it is clear
that there is nothing in the Act to protect the consumers from false and untrue
advertisement or presentation of online information to the consumers and redressal of
consumer disputes arising out of e-Commerce transactions. The other important aspects
of e-Commerce are certain financial issues, such as customs and taxation in relation to
sale of consumer goods. Such issues need to be resolved at the earliest to promote
systematic growth of e-Commerce in India and for giving effect to the provisions of the
Act.

Lee and Turban (2001) have developed a reliable conceptual framework for measuring
trust of consumers in Internet shopping. They are of the opinion that e-Commerce
success, especially in the Business-to-Consumer area, is determined in part by whether
consumers trust sellers and products that they cannot see or touch, and electronic
systems with which they have no previous experience. This paper describes a
theoretical model for investigating the main antecedent influences on consumer trust in
Internet shopping. In online shopping a major form is Business-to-Consumer. The
authors have tested four variables of e-Commerce namely trustworthiness of Internet
merchant, trustworthiness of the Internet as a shopping medium, infrastructural factors
like security and other factors like company size, type of web site and demographic
variables. This paper has concluded that merchant integrity is a major positive
determinant of consumer trust in Internet shopping and its effect is moderated by the
individual consumers ‘trust’ propensity. This article has provided rich information on
trust of consumers in online shopping.

43
Bhatia and Singh (2002) highlights several issues like advertising, marketing, stock,
exchange, payment mechanism, banking supply chain management, cyber laws and
WTO relating to electronic dealings. The authors have started their paper with the
statement that the cutting edge for business today is electronic commerce and e-
Commerce has been able to bridge the gap between the buyers and sellers. The authors
have discussed dark secrets of e-Commerce and several reasons that are responsible for
slow adoption of e-Commerce and e-shopping in India. This paper has concluded that
lot of efforts needs to be put in place for creating awareness and educating people about
the technology and its advantages. It is concluded by authors that it is not easy to
change conventional shopping paradigm which involves going to a shopping mall,
touching the product, feeling its texture, bargaining with the shopkeeper and purchase
it. However, online shopping is now in trend and national accounting bodies must
devise appropriate accounting standards for it.

Rha et al. (2001/2002) provides an overview of the concept that how ‘e-Consumerism’
acts as a tool for ‘Consumer Empowerment’. According to authors from a consumerism
perspective, the Internet is more than a communication mechanism. It is an aid to
consumer empowerment. The Internet has enormous roles to play in each of the three
stages of consumption by the consumers in online shopping, namely: (i) Pre-Purchase
stage, (ii) Purchase stage, and (iii) Post-Purchase stage. Each stage has a little different
role, and accordingly, requires a range of input from consumer educators. In the pre-
purchase stage, the emphasis is on guiding consumers to useful sources of product and
service information, and possibly evaluating that information in terms of its degree of
usefulness and independence. During the purchase stage, the emphasis is on locating
and evaluating networks of buyer groups, so that consumers can effectively bargain for
improved terms of sale. In the post-purchase phase, the emphasis is on guiding
consumers to web- sites that can help them to gain redress for unsatisfactory purchase,
and possibly instructing consumers how to use such sites. In this paper, the authors have
investigated the effect of Internet from the consumers' perspective. The purpose of this
article is to highlight new opportunities for consumerism. It is concluded that the
underlying goal of consumer education is to provide information, mechanisms and

44
confidence to consumers that will give them a sense of control over their individual and
collective decisions.

Grabner-Kraeuter (2002) holds an opinion that many consumers are sceptical or

suspicious about functional mechanism of electronic- commerce, transparent processes
of e-banking, effects and the quality of many products that are offered online. This
paper analyses the role of consumer trust as foundation for the diffusion and acceptance
of electronic Commerce. The analysis focuses on conditions of e-Commerce
transactions that are relevant for the formation of trust problems. Drawings on the
theory of information two types of uncertainties are described: System-dependent and
Transaction–specific uncertainty. This paper has finally described different activities,
instruments and categories that Internet firms can use to establish and maintain trust of
consumers.

In this article Prins (2003) has discussed the pros and cons of a European Union liability
regime for suppliers of electronic services. This article analyses a possible need for new
liability regime to protect consumers in an online world. Attention is also given to
possible non-legislative measures to provide consumers with an adequate level of
protection in electronic services. This research is focused on the potential dividends of
Internet that has challenged the traditional position of the consumers and particularly
the position of consumers in online shopping. It is briefed out that on the one hand,
Internet network gives consumers more power, while, on the other, it renders ample of
complexities in which condition of consumers is vulnerable. The Internet has offered
transparency in prices and brand selection, but not in quality of products and services. It
is argued by author that for protecting the interests of consumers in online transactions
is an essential factor in establishing trust in electronic commerce. Important illustrative
work in this area is the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In addition, this paper has given rich
information on various recommendations issued by consumer organisations, codes of
conduct, certification schemes and other self-regulatory initiatives.

Nitsure (2003) discusses some of the problems in the developing countries, which have
low penetration of information and telecommunication technology. Lack of adequate

45
Internet facility is major hindrance in growth of e-Banking. Major concerns such as the
‘digital divide’ between the rich and poor, the different operational environments for
public and private sector banks, problems of security and authentication, management,
regulation and inadequate financing of small and medium scale enterprises are
highlighted. It has been concluded by the author that in the regulatory arena, in addition
to aspects like privacy and security, the regulator should also examine plan of banks for
e-Banking more closely. It is suggested that in order to avoid the risks involved in
cross-border e-Banking, India can make a gradual beginning, first by seeking benefits in
the export of out processing services in which it has a strong comparative advantage and
secondly, by reforming legal texture. In this paper, author has identified some such
impediments in the Indian context and has suggested ways to overcome them in order to
move forward with the wave of e-Banking successfully.

Thatte, Pawar and Gupta (2003) have focused in their research on the e-Commerce in
Indian perspective particularly. It is briefed out that Internet is becoming a major
information communication source due to e-Commerce. e-Commerce is the capability
of exchanging the commerce electronically. e-Commerce site is not just an electronic
brochure or interactive marketing tool, but it has become a common platform for selling
products or services. This paper presents the conceptual framework of e-Commerce and
analyses the issues, threats, challenges and future of e-Commerce in India. It is
concluded that though e-Commerce is well developed and established in Western world,
in India it is still in rudimentary stage. It needs intense desire and efforts on various
fronts, mainly on business houses. It is suggested that government must establish sound
and secure e-Commerce in India.

Chaturvedi (2003) has given an overall perspective of Internet as an instrumentality of

commerce in modern ‘High- tech era’. According to him there was a time when horses’
with their rider, sailing vessels, coach and steamboats and railroads, etc., were treated as
different instrumentalities of commerce in different areas. But those instrumentalities
also have become outdated in this modern “High-tech-era”. When constitutions of
different federal countries were being drafted, the constitution makers could not have
visualised this type of instrumentality of Commerce. The present era of globalisation
has demolished trade barriers and as a result trade activity is not only restricted to
46
geographical boundaries but also cater the markets anywhere in the world. The Internet
allows people to enter into extensive transactions with customers anywhere in the
world; without entering the geographical boundaries of the customers’ country or
without setting up business offices in those countries. Unlike real world commerce is
not easy to regulate because jurisdictional problem may arise. In this paper bird's eye
view of some of the basic issues of electronic commerce, problem of jurisdiction in
federal setup and taxation has been touched.

Jarvenpaa and Tractinsky (2004) have conducted a wonderful empirical research on

trust factor in Internet shopping. One of the most important issues faced by Internet
merchants is how to engender trust in a consumer when that consumer is located in
another country or continent and he/she has no prior interaction with the merchant
either in traditional or Internet channels. The current study has examined consumer trust
model during online shopping. The cross-validated model is merely a modest step
towards building a theory of consumer trust in an Internet shopping. The authors have
concluded that there are number of factors other than size and reputation that affect trust
with heterogeneous consumer pools. The design, ease of use, aesthetics and the native
language of the site might have an impact. The factors that play an important role for
building trust between the consumer and the merchant organization include the degree
of personalization or customization of the web site, geographic closeness of the
merchant to the consumer, existence of a physical store and quality of product group.
The website’s links with other web sites also have impact on consumer’s trust. Free trial
periods and small gifts from the merchant to a consumer encourage customer interaction
and consumer trust. It has been concluded by the authors that the lack of trust is
stopping large number of people from engaging in commercial transactions on the web.

Swaminathan, Lepkoska-White and Rao (2004) has analysed the buying behaviour of
consumers in Internet shopping very beautifully. They have conceptualised and
empirically examined the inter-relationship of various shopping formats and consumer
responses therein. In this article, the authors have focused on the role of web as an
information and communication medium. New shopping medium provides intriguing
questions for academic research. In order to examine the various alternative shopping
formats, a brief comparison of web retailing with traditional retail, television in –home
47
shopping and catalogue shopping as to various dimensions of variety, trial facility,
asynchrony and interactivity is shown. The authors have examined various factors like
vendor characteristics, security, privacy, and customer characteristics in online
shopping. By examining a sample of Internet users, authors are able to examine the
impact of these factors in converting existing users from browsers to buyers. The study
supports various theoretical propositions that vendors should be reliable, offer
competitive prices and provide useful information on the Internet and easy-to-conduct
services. The empirical findings suggest that perceived vendor characteristics,
particularly price competitiveness and ease of cancelling orders affect the frequency of
purchase on the Internet. This study shows that in developed countries an average
consumer is not as concerned about the security of electronic exchanges or privacy
issues. However, according to this study, consumers who purchase frequently on the
Internet are interested in the creation of new laws protecting privacy on the Internet.
Finally, this study shows that consumers who are primarily motivated by convenience
are more likely to make purchases online. Those who value social interactions are less
interested in Internet shopping and thus shop less frequently on the Internet and spend
less money on e-Commerce. Therefore, this article has brought various facts about
consumer buying behaviour in the Internet.

Palsokar (2005) has started the article by stating that the banking industry is one of the
oldest industries in the world. However, today banking has become more complex with
different product and services that stems from reliance on automation and technological
change which has shaped it from manual-intensive industry into one highly automated
and technology independent. Intense competition has forced banks to rethink the way
they operate their business. Technology in the form of e-Banking has made it possible
to find alternative banking practices at lower cost. This article has mentioned various
modes of payment in banking, advantages of electronic banking, electronic banking in
relation to Internet and security issues. It has been concluded that a shift has taken
place- a shift towards cashless society. It is suggested that sooner or later banks have to
enter the electronic banking arena just to survive in the competitive market. In India,
while some banks have already started offering electronic banking products, others are

48
on the way. It is briefed out that banks those have established a web-site on the Internet
are taking a right step in the right direction for bright future.

Ganesh (2005), in this article, has introduced the meaning of electronic commerce and
further states that e-Commerce encompasses all forms of commercial transactions,
involving both organizations and individuals that require the processing and
transmission of digitized data, including text, sound and visual images. It is expressed
that e-Commerce is an emerging global reality that has a significant impact on banking.
It encompasses all three facets of a contract of sale i.e. offer, acceptance and movement
of consideration. The payment of money as one leg of the transaction essentially
involves banking. e-Commerce is opening up new business possibilities and with the
outreach of the Internet; it is expected to lead to a paradigm shift in the dynamics of
business and banking. Author has discussed advantages of e-Commerce, issues and
concerns for bankers, legal issues and future of e-banking. It is suggested that first thing
to do is the basic spadework of putting in place proper e-Commerce infrastructure
including identifying banking applications, building up a pool of skilled personnel,
addressing security and strengthening legal issues in India. The author has concluded
that today, e-Commerce is being seen as the single largest business window across the
world.

Agarwal (2005) has discussed applicability of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 to

banking sector with the help of practical cases. This article begins with the relevance of
consumer protection. According to him social and economic justice is enshrined in the
Constitution of India of which consumer justice and protection is also a part. This
article has highlighted three-tier quasi-judicial machinery provided under the Act to
deal with consumer complaints. Some of the important cases are analysed wherein
banks have been pulled for deficiency like wrongful dishonour of bank draft, non-credit
of cheque collected, non- issuance of proper receipt, interest not paid on excess amount
deposited in violation of PPF rules and default by banker’s agent. After the analysis of
various judgments of the Consumer Courts, the author has concluded that these
Consumer Courts have not only been awarding the value of the goods or services for the
defect and deficiency in service but also the compensation for the mental agony and
harassment. In a battle against the injustice, a consumer is a small fry against the
49
monolith bank. But the justice seems to have prevailed under the aegis of the Consumer
Protection Act, 1986 because its provisions enable consumers to redress any injustice
done to him/ her.

Dahiya and Seema (2007) have contributed a lot in this research with their article on
‘Consumer in e-Marketing Environment’. This article has expressed the reality that
marketing is not a fixed system of concepts and axioms. Rather, marketing is one of the
most dynamic fields and, therefore, new marketing ideas keep surfacing to meet the
new market place. The boom in telephony, television, computer and Internet has a
major impact on business, markets and the consumer. Out of all above, electronic
marketing has been quite revolutionary. This article is designed, broadly, to examine
effects of electronic marketing on consumers in Indian context. Further, this article has
been divided into two sections. Section- I, while explaining the concept of e-marketing,
enumerates and unfolds numerous benefits of this new situation to the consumers.
Section-II is devoted to highlight certain concerns and challenges in adoption of this
new marketing technology. This article has analyzed issues in e-marketing vis-à-vis
consumers. It has concluded that as the market shoots for electronic trading, consumers
get a better price deal and also standard as well as quality of products and services.
However, inadequate infrastructure, legal issues, payment of taxation problems,
consumer psyche and digital illiteracy, erosion of values and culture are some
formidable challenges in the growth of e-marketing in India. Therefore, it is
recommended by the authors that the government agencies, NGOs , business as well as
consumer community are required to play their role well with full responsibility and
accountability to derive maximum benefits out of this wonderful technology.

Prasad (2008) has very beautifully as well as systematically described the historical
evolution of consumer protection law in Indian perspective. This article examines the
historical perspective of consumer protection in India from the ancient period (Vedic
age) that has its deep roots in the rich soil of Indian civilization, which dates back to
3200 B.C. to modern India. It has discussed the legal framework of the Indian
Consumer Protection Act of 1986 which led to the evolution of a new legal culture in
India. It has been concluded by the author that consumer protection is always a matter
of great concern. In ancient India, the King was the supreme authority to render justice,
50
but his authority was circumscribed by the rules of Dharma. In the medieval period,
some Muslim rulers developed well organized market mechanisms to monitor prices
and supply of goods. During the British period, several modern legislations were
introduced in India to protect the consumers’ interests. Today, the Consumer Protection
Act, 1986 which provides an easy access to justice, has brought a legal revolution in
India as a result of its cost effective mechanism and popular support. However, at the
same time these mechanisms pose a great legal challenge to the traditional courts which
conduct litigation in orthodox ways.

Singhal and Padhmanabhan (2008) have conducted a study on customer perception

towards Internet Banking and identified major contributing factors for popularity of
online banking. Internet banking is the term used for new age banking system. Internet
banking is increasingly becoming popular because of convenience and flexibility. The
present paper explores the major factors responsible for Internet banking based on
respondents’ perception on various Internet applications. It also provides a framework
of the factors which are taken to assess the Internet banking perception. This article is
based on the empirical study of various factors relating to Internet banking. The authors
have concluded that the analysis done with the help of statistical tools clearly indicate
the factors responsible for Internet banking. Factor analysis results indicate that ‘utility
request’, ‘security’, ‘utility transaction’, ‘ticket booking’ and ‘fund transfer’ are major
factors. Out of total respondents’ more than 50 % agreed that Internet banking is
convenient and flexible ways of banking and it also have various transaction related
benefits. Thus, providing Internet banking is increasingly becoming a “need to have”
than a “nice to have” service.

Sharma (2011) has expressed that today e-Banking is used as a strategic tool by the
global banking sector to attract and retain customers. The present paper is the outcome
of an empirical study conducted with the objective of investigating bankers’ views
regarding e-Banking. The objectives of the paper are to study: (i) bankers’ perspective
on e-Banking activities of respondents; (ii) impact of e-Banking on banks; and (iii)
promotional measures used by banks to promote e-banking. It covers bankers’
perspectives on e-Banking activities of respondents, impact of e-Banking and
promotional measures used by banks to promote e-Banking. The survey data used in
51
this research have been collected through a questionnaire in Northern region of India by
administering to 192 bankers. The enquiry reveals that customers generally use e-
Banking services on persuasion of bankers. User-ship is mostly concentrated on
professionals, business class and males belonging to middle age. The bankers are
convinced that e-Banking helps in improving the relationship between bankers and
customers and that it brings improvement in the overall performance of banks. Impact
of e-Banking on relationship between bankers and customers and on overall
performance of banks also forms an important part of the analysis. Regarding bankers’
perspectives on e-Banking activities of customers, the study reveals that there is not
much awareness in Indian customers regarding use of e-Banking services. But, the
guidance and persuasion by bankers does promote the use of such services amongst the
customers. In order to make e-Banking more popular, banks must separate their
customers based on demographic priority (age, gender, occupation etc.) and customize
e-Banking services as per their needs and requirements. It is seen that banks are heavily
dependent on print media to promote their services. It is felt by author that they
(consumers) should supplement this media with other modes like sms and e-mail to
stimulate e-Banking usage and create greater awareness.

Kaviar (2011) has dealt with various challenges to consumer protection in electronic
contracts in a very systematic manner. This article has provided rich information in this
present research. According to author consumer is weaker party in electronic contracts,
especially Business to Consumer contracts (B2C). There are various legal systems to
protect consumers. However, consumers still face a variety of problems. For example,
they do not have facility of negotiation in the online markets and they often have
difficulties in understanding contract terms. More importantly, consumers still do not
always have effective methods for asserting their rights and resolving disputes. This
paper examines some of the issues involved in consumer protection in online dispute
resolution and in the context of electronic contracts. The author has concluded that
consumer protection policy is indispensable in building consumer confidence and
establishing a balanced relationship between businesses and consumers in transactions.
To fully appreciate the legal complexities of regulating this new online economy, it is
must to understand the magnitude and nature of the Internet and to make the policy of

52
self-regulation and international orientation. The author has concluded that electronic
commerce is still at a fledging stage and it urgently needs consumer participation for the
protection of their rights.

Using the context of online retailing, Mishra and Asthana (2012) have highlighted that
retail banking is a quick enormous market banking where individual customer uses
numerous branches of the commercial banks which are interconnected. Banks provide
savings accounts, current accounts, checking accounts, personal accounts, tax
exemption, special saving accounts, time deposit accounts, money market accounts,
loan accounts, joint accounts, variety of mortgages, different types of loans, different
types of customers, automated teller machine and card services. However, with business
growth banking sector develops new risks and problems like hacking of passwords,
login of accounts without consent of the banker etc. This article highlights that
International survey on privacy laws and practice acknowledge right to privacy as a
fundamental right. Protection of information privacy, privacy of communications and
territorial privacy are the noteworthy aspects of e-business and e-banking. On this topic
two crucial International instruments have evolved namely: the Council of Europe’s
1981 Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Automatic
Processing of Personal Data; and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development’s (OECD) guidelines governing the protection of Privacy and Trans
Border Data Flows of Personal Data articulated rules covering the handling of
electronic data. The rules within these two documents form the core of data protection
laws of several countries. This article contains case-studies on frauds in e-Banking and
gives remedies for customer’s security in retail banking.

Upadhyay (2012) has, in his research paper, stated that with rapidly growing modern
technology, the size of the world is becoming shorter and shorter. The info-tech
infrastructure that supports 21st century business is closely scrutinized for its role in
helping business objectives. Business and consumers are increasingly using computers
to create, transmit and store information in the electronic form instead of traditional
paper documents. Internet has made the world a global village. However, due to the
abuse of Internet, cyber crimes have been increasing multifold throughout the globe.

53
This article discusses ‘cyber crimes’, ‘cyber contraventions’, ‘cyber offences’, The
UNCITRAL Model Law 1996, The Information Technology Act, 2000, Jurisdiction of
cyber crimes, Impact of cyber crime and stated that The IT Act, 2000 is not so effective.
The author has suggested that laws relating to cyber crimes in India must be in
consonance with the International standards so as to combat with faceless, nameless
criminals in the virtual world.

Singh and Chadah (2013) have enriched this present research with several unique facts
on consumer protection. According to them the growing interdependence of the world
economy and International character of many business practices have contributed to the
development of universal emphasis on protection and promotion of consumer rights.
Consumers, clients and customers’ world over are demanding value for money in the
form of quality goods and better services. Modern technological developments have
made a great impact on the quality, availability and safety of goods and services. But
the fact of life is that consumers are still victims of unscrupulous and exploitative
practices. Exploitation of consumers assumes numerous forms such as adulteration of
food, spurious drugs, dubious hire purchase plans, high prices, poor quality, deficient
services, deceptive advertisements, hazardous products, black marketing and many
more. In addition, with revolution in Information technology new kinds of challenges
are thrown on the consumer like cyber crimes, plastic money frauds and cheating in e-
Banking transactions etc., which affect the consumer in bigger way. ‘Consumer is
sovereign’ and ‘Customer is the King’ are nothing more than myths in the present
scenario particularly in developing societies. It has been concluded by the authors that if
both the producers/ providers and consumers realize the need for co-existence, only
then, the adulterated products, spurious goods and other deficiencies in services would
become a thing of the past. The active involvement and participation from all quarters
i.e. the Central and State Governments, the educational Institutions, the NGO’s,
electronic media, observance of a voluntary code of conduct by the service providers is
necessary to see that the consumers get their due. Total commitment to the consumer
cause and social responsiveness to consumer preferences is need of the hour.

54
RESEARCH GAP:

In addition to these books, the researcher has consulted much more books on this topic
and in the light of review of literature; it is reiterated that the present issue has been
rarely discussed in the earlier research works. There is a considerable gap in the
research literature available on this subject. Few authors have pinpointed the status of
online consumer in the cyber-market. In the books of Cyber law, entire emphasis is on
crimes in cyber world like hacking, spamming, pornography, cracking, identity theft
and cyber terrorism etc., etc. The criminal aspect is more highlighted. In the books of
Commerce and Business, e-Commerce is explained from the perspective of
management and success of business in Internet. Information regarding protection to
rights of consumers in Internet Commerce is less available in the literature on consumer
protection in India. Very few cases are reported on this subject because this is an
emerging field in India. There is no adequate law for the protection of rights of e-
consumers when fraud is committed on them in B-C (Business to Consumer) and C-B
(Consumer to Business) stream of e-Commerce. e-Banking frauds are highlighted but
their prevention is not much discussed. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (the
Consumer Protection Act, 2002) and the Information Technology Act, 2000 (the
Information Technology Act, 2008) are silent on this topic. It is submitted that in
present scenario human is active participant in the online transactions, e-banking, online
shopping and influenced by online advertisements. Every day one or another person is a
victim of fraud, manipulations and misrepresentation in e-Marketing. Then the question
arises where to go for justice? This is still a question before the Indian Jurisprudence as
the consequences of online shopping and banking transactions in the borderless world
of the Internet function differently from the offline world in various ways. Although a
lot of literature in the form of books, articles, journals and research papers is now
available on Cyber law, however, in view of the rapid recent technological
developments, there is hardly any research on consumer protection in Cyber-marketing
(e-Commerce). Most of the literature available on this topic discusses the Information
Technology Act, 2000 (2008) from criminal perspective like Cyber crime and its
various dimensions. This Act is entirely silent on some upcoming challenges in e-
Commerce like frauds in online shopping, violation of rights of online consumers and

55
compensation to victimized consumers in e-marketing. It is need of the time to frame
systematic and coherent legal mechanism to deal with this ignored aspect. Therefore
there is need for updated studies in this new and ever expanding area of law. This
research is focused on the protection of rights of consumers in Indian jurisprudence in a
new pattern of business that is - Internet e-Commerce.

1.7 Statement of the Research Problem

“Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over

everything, except over technology.”
John Tudor
When the Internet tsunami hit the industry, it submerged everything existing business
model and left behind a plethora of the vowel ‘e’, just as a real tsunami would leave
seaweed. Suddenly, if a company name does not end with ‘.com’, it is considered as a
part of the old economy. The ‘dot com’ and ‘e’-version companies have merged the old
brick-and-mortar business industries. The influx of the Internet and World Wide Web
has made it possible to communicate and transact over cyberspace, it has resulted in the
emergence of multitude of problems like cyber crimes and need for its regulation has
emerged as a prime concern for the authorities.27

The silicon revolution has impacted the legal infrastructure whereby it has straddled
geographical boundaries and has coalesced from a tribal dictate to a conglomerate mass
of rules. The prodigious Internet has become a modality of cultural and legal
transmission and as a result, blurring international boundaries, fading legal frontiers and
the power of software architecture has expanded the locus of crime to the farthest
fringes of the globe.28 Exploitation of consumers in the cyberspace represent the largest
generation of illegal activities whereby the electronic onslaught has narrowed down the
legal latitude and the entire consumer protection jurisprudence is facing legal, technical,
political and operational challenges. 29 Violations of rights of consumers in Internet e-
Commerce; a 20th century foetus of technological development, has grown to an
epidemic and has become uncontrollable in the 21st century. One of the characteristics
27
P. McGrawan and MG Durkin, “Toward an Understanding of Internet Adoption at the
Marketing Entrepreneurship Interface”, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 18, 2002, p. 32.
28
Talat Fatima, Cybercrimes, Eastern Book Company, Lucknow, 2011, Preface, p. i.
29
ibid, p. ii.
56
of online frauds is that these are transnational and faceless unlike conventional crimes.
Often investigations end up in vacuum due to the very nature of the crime and lack of
effective legislative framework in combating the same.

In India various offences relating to Internet are enumerated in the Information

Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008. 30 Just
as today’s economy is a mixture of old and new; most established companies are a
hybrid of the old and the new. In just the same way consumers can now be viewed as
liking this hybrid market. They take advantage of online shopping conveniences but still
visit the stairs for human interaction and the ‘shopping experience’. However, it is also
a reality that in the global world, e-shopping has been well adopted by consumers
wherein consumer is a not a King. In physical market, consumer uses his five sense
organs like: Eyes, Ears, Skin (Feel), Nose and Tongue to examine a product. Internet is
now capable of satisfying only two senses: Eyes, Hearing (reading comments and
reviews posted by users). Due to lack of privacy, trust and security, this type of e-
Commerce has chances to die a premature death.31

In the real world, a consumer goes into shop, selects commodity and hands over cash in
return for that commodity which he/she carries. The risks are very small and even if
things go wrong, consumer can usually exchange the faulty goods. One knows where to
go back to shop because bricks and mortar rarely move overnights. However, when
trading over the Internet, things are not simple: The dream of virtual trader can
suddenly become a nightmare. Exploitation of the rights of e-Consumers under the veil
of information technology has grown from a cesspool into a huge iceberg.
Unfortunately in India, we are just thinking of touching the tip of the iceberg through
ad-hoc measures. e-Commerce demands greater vigilance to ensure that the parties do
not violate or infringe upon their rights.

Information is considered as a nervous system of an organization. It should be

preserved, protected, managed and regulated like any other assets like property, money

30
Rodney D. Ryder, “Law and Privacy in the Cyber Space: A Premier on the Indian Information
Technology Act, 2000”, Manupatra Newsline, September, 2008, p. 3.
31
G.S. Karkara, "Copy Right of Intellectual Property: With Special Reference to Computer
Programmes and Information Technology", Journal of the Legal Studies, Department of Law,
University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Vol. xxx, 1999-2000, p.1.
57
and relationships. Information is power and silent wars are being waged for controlling
it. Information control and protection have become a key factor to establish supremacy
in the world.32 The information technology has opened vistas for developing complete
new business modules in order to facilitate and expedite modern day business
transactions. The development of e-Commerce towards the fag end of the last
millennium supported by the growth of the Internet has completely revolutionized and
re-engineered the business processes. 33 Electronic commerce technologies have brought
a paradigm shift in Indian economy; shift of the agricultural economy to industrial
revolution and from industrial revolution to electronic revolution. New information
technology remaps the “distances” between people and places. Digital railroads have
restructured space, time and cost of business.34 However, cyber world provides no
privacy and conservation of it. On one hand, Information technology runs like a golden
thread in e-Commerce, on the other hand, it is misused through fraudulent
advertisements, tempting offers, false price quotations, malicious information, e-
Banking frauds, hidden identity of sellers, weak bargaining, lack of business ethics,
credit card frauds, hacking of secret numbers, jurisdiction conflicts at the time of e-
contracts across countries and lack of global e-Commerce regulations etc.35 With
proliferation of information technology enabled services such as e-governance, e-
Commerce and e-transactions, protection of personal data and implementation of
security practices relating to electronic communications have assumed greater
importance and they require harmonisation with the provisions of the Information
Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008. The validity of e-Contracts has been reconsidered
under this study. The basic requirements of a contract are: (i) Capacity to contact, (ii)
Consent of the parties to contact and (iii) Consideration for the contact. These apply to
every contact whether oral, written or electronic. However the question to prove the

32
P.M. Bakshi & R.K.Suri, Cyber & E-Commerce Laws, Bharat Publishing House, New Delhi,
2002, p. 1.
33
Stuart S. Malawer, “Global Governance of E-Commerce and Internet Trade: Recent
Developments”, Virginia Lawyer, International Law Section, June-July, 2001, pp. 14-19.
34
J. Christopher Westland and Theodore H.K. Clark, Global Electronic Commerce: Theory and
Case Studies, Universities Press, Hyderabad, 2001, p. 12
35
Mathew M. Chacka, "Service Provider Liability for Copyright Infringement in India: Warning
from the American Experience", NALSAR Law Review, Vol. 1, No.1, October, 2003, p. 131.

58
application of these requirements in the context of capacity in e-transactions is still not
decided.

The most outstanding development in e-commercial transaction has been the geometric
expansion of ‘On-line Banking’ or ‘e-Banking. Going “e” is a central act that shapes
every subsequent plan and decision a company makes.36 e-Commerce is a three-legged
stool. If one company has two of the legs namely-(1) Infrastructure (Speed); (2) Valid
contractual software; but don’t have the very important one and that is (3) e-Banking
facilities (price or consideration or effective e-transaction services), there is no way that
stool will ever stand up.37 Retail banking in India has fast emerged as one of the major
drivers of the overall banking industry and has witnessed enormous growth in the recent
past.38 In modern e-Banking, novice modes of committing frauds have also come into
existence which is very difficult to recognize and investigate like Cyber Money
Laundering or e-Money Laundering, Credit Card Frauds, Phishing, Pharming, ATM
Frauds, Unwanted Programs like Adware, Spyware, Browser Parasites, Hacking and
Cyber vandalism and Malicious Code etc. In this research, an analysis of Indian
legislations has been made so as to highlight that how far these laws are able to deal
with these frauds.

“Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal.”

Albert Einstein

The technological developments have caused imponderable problems for mankind. The
notion of consumer sovereignty is merely a slogan having little bearing in cyber world.
The Information Technology Act, 2000 has been enacted to give effect to the
UNCITRAL Model Law, 1996 in India. In this regard, the Information Technology
(Amendment) Act, 2008 has been amended in order to give widest possible
applicability. A rapid increase in the use of computer and Internet has given rise to new

36
Ravi Kolakata and Marica Robinson, e-Business 2.0: Roadmap for Success, Anubha Printers,
Pearson, New Delhi, 2009, p. 20.
37
John Tschonl, e-Service: Speed, Technology and Price Built Around Service, Pentagon Press,
New Delhi, 2003, pp. 1, 19.
38
Retail Banking in India-The Comprehensive Industry Report, Retrieved from
<www.researchandmarkets.com/.../retail_banking_in_india> visited on 10 January, 2013. Retail
banking is banking in which banking institutions execute transactions directly with consumers,
rather than corporations or other banks.
59
forms of crimes like publishing sexually explicit materials in electronic form, video
voyeurism and breach of confidentiality and leakage of data by intermediary, e-
Commerce frauds like personating commonly known as Phishing, identity theft and
offensive messages through communication services. The Information Technology
(Amendment) Act, 2008 has not dealt with these grey areas: (i) Negotiability; (ii) Credit
Card payments for online transactions; (iii) Jurisdiction aspects of electronic contracts
(viz. Jurisdiction of courts, Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction and Tax authorities); (iv)
Taxation of goods and services traded through e-Commerce; (v) Data privacy issues on
the Internet and (vi) Stamp duty aspects of electronic contracts. There is not even a
single provision for the protection of consumers in online commerce. This, in fact is
very shocking for online shoppers. On the one hand, majority of people are enjoying of
e-Commerce, however, on the other hand there is no provision for protection of
consumers; who are backbone of this commercial world. The present legislation is not
giving response to the need of the hour.

1.8 Significance and Likely Contribution of the Research

On the basis of the overview of the Information Technology Act, 2000 Information
Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 the researcher personally feels that it is like a
skeleton legislation where all provisions are decorated in a very beautiful and
systematic way, however, these are not worth for an ordinary Indian consumer who is
not a lawyer or computer engineer or cyber expert but a victim of online frauds. There
is lack of soul/spirit behind these provisions. The law is of as much interest to the
layman as it is to the lawyer.

“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the
steamroller, you're part of the road.”
Stewart Brand
The challenge is before Indian legal jurisprudence and it is need of the hour to accept it
with open arms. The laws, which were written for traditional world, now, need to be
changed to suit the digital world. The purpose of the Act is not a mere addition of the
decoration piece in the legal world library, but to provide justice to the users of this
technology. It is possible only when keeping aside all the technicalities it must be made

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easy for layman to understand and applicable. How so ever amendments may be
introduced in this Act, it is believed that unless human spirit is there, it will be just the
phantom of what it should have been. In this work, an attempt has been made to give
human touch to these provisions so that layman or ordinary consumer do not get
confused in technicalities of this Act but he/she can see and feel the justice if the
consumer is betrayed in the e-world. The relevance of research is to connect the
Information Technology Act, 2000 (2008) with practical issues faced by e-Consumers.

This research is an inter-disciplinary study by connecting commercial terms, computer

terms and legal terms. As this technology is used only by educated, high professionals
and computer experts in all around the world, therefore, an attempt has been made to
introduce a mechanism to which e-victim can approach and get justice. Due to torturous
procedure of courts even educated people continue to tolerate these crimes. It is hereby
observed that cyber laws are incompetent to protect them from these white collar
(highly sophisticated) crimes.

It was in sixties that the nation, realising the vast contributions made by its farmers and
soldiers, made the slogan ‘JAI JAWAN JAI KISAN’ popular. In 1998, the pride of
nuclear capability made the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee add-in ‘JAI
VIGYAN’ to this slogan. Now probably the time has come, when the nation realises the
impact of information technology in pushing high growth rate in economy, creation of
wealth and increase in economy and the simple most important factor which probably
can contribute to this ‘e-Commerce’. It may be the right time to proclaim ‘JAI e-
COMMERCE’ and salute this engine of wealth creation for an economy. 39 The most
appropriate term is ‘JAI JAWAN JAI KISAN JAI VIGYAN AND JAI e-VIDVAAN’.
The foundation of this research is that the e-business supplements the traditional
economy; it does not supplant it. The old economies will continue to operate profitably
within the deep cortex of the e-Business. This research is an attempt to give proper
treatment to this emerging field of law.

The relevance of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 stands nowhere
when a person purchases online commodity under the influence of advertisements and

39
Dewang Mehta, “Jai e-Commerce- Slogan” Hindustan Times, November 7, 1999, (NASSCOM
President), p. 7.
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he/she is betrayed by the suppliers. The Act is silent on it. e-Commerce is governed by
the IT Act, 2000, it is so technical that it is out of reach of a common Cyber neitizen.
Like the Domestic Violence (Prevention) Act, 2005, the Right to Information Act, 2005,
under which the people are really reaping fruits of legislation, the relevance if the
Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 is just a dim light. The likely
contribution of this research is to make online commerce a consumer favourable and to
provide a fertile ground for the success of e-Commerce in India.

1.9 Objectives of the Research

(i) To analyse the role of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Amended Act,
2008) for the protection of the rights of consumers in online shopping.

(ii) To make comparative analysis between the Information Technology Act, 2000
and the UNCITRAL Model Law, 1996 as the Information Technology Act,
2000 has been enacted to give effect to the objective of UNCITRAL Model
Law, 1996.
(iii) To critically analyse the various Indian legislations for the protection of rights of
consumers in Internet e-Commerce.
(iv) To reveal the ignored perspective of the Information Technology Act, 2000 that
is the protection of consumer rights in the e-Commerce.
(v) To examine the gravity of financial frauds with consumers during online
shopping and to observe how far consumers are legally protected.

(vi) To conduct empirical study on trust and security parameters of consumers in

online commerce and to conceptualize legal provisions for safe and secure
online shopping.

1.10 Hypotheses of the Research

(i) The Information Technology Act, 2000 (2008) is not a comprehensive
legislation to govern e-Commerce. No shield is provided to consumers in
Internet e-Commerce.

(ii) In the era of ‘e’ revolution Indian Jurisprudence on consumer protection needs
to be amended as it is not up to the mark to tackle the online frauds with
consumers.

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(iii) Lack of trust of consumers in online shopping and e-Banking transactions is the
major hindrance in the growth of e-Commerce in India.

1.11 Data Base and Methodology

The present study is a doctrinal, critical and an empirical study. In another words, it is
‘Desk oriented Empirical Research’ wherein an endeavour has been made to explore the
actual application of law in providing shield to victims in cyberspace with the help of
‘Short Survey’. An attempt has been made to collect experiences of people through
empirical study (Questionnaire Method) with an objective to highlight ground realities.
To peruse this research primary as well as secondary data have been used. Data from
primary sources has been collected from a ‘Short Survey’ of various users of Internet
(online shoppers) by using a well structured Questionnaire. Other sources are
UNCITRAL Model Law 1996, The Information Technology Act, 2000, The Consumer
Protection Act, 1986, The Indian Contract Act, 1872 and RBI Guidelines that are
available in original. Sources of secondary data include reports of Government
departments in Consumer Protection Affairs, Reserve Bank of India, Books, Law
Journals, Articles, Law Magazines, Newspapers and various websites.

The researcher has visited a number of various libraries and documentation centres for
collecting literature from commercial and legal viewpoints. These inter alia include the
libraries of Bhai Gurdas Library of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Guru Nanak
Dev University Regional Campus, Gurdaspur, Lovely Professional University (LPU),
Jalandhar, Punjabi University, Patiala, Rajiv Gandhi National Law University, Patiala,
Panjab University, Chandigarh, Indian Law Institute (ILI), New Delhi, Indian Society
of International Law (ISIL), New Delhi, Delhi University Law Centre-I, North Campus,
New Delhi, Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) New Delhi and Law
College, Dehradun, Uttaranchal Institute of Technology (UIT), Uttrakhand.

1.12 Chapterisation Plan

This research is inspired by writers like Rodney D. Ryder, David Whitely, Chris Reed,
S.V. Joga Rao, Farooq Ahmad, Ralph Nadar, Graham J.H. Smith and other good
number of authors who have been the legal experts in the field of Cyber Law and
Consumer Protection Law. Enormous use has been made of the articles and journals for

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reference. Case laws of India and observations of hon’ble courts which have contributed
to this field are also deeply studied. The position of Indian consumer protection
jurisprudence is highlighted in the context of Cyber-marketing. This research extends
over highlighting the novel problems faced by the legal world in the area of ‘Frauds to
consumers in online Shopping and online Banking’ with special reference to India.

This research work is divided into nine chapters. Chapter one, entitled Introduction to
the rubric Jurisprudence of E-Commerce and Consumer Protection in India: A Critical
Analysis with Special Reference to the Information Technology Act, 2000, circumscribes
the canonical problem under research. After having an overview of statement of the
problem, this chapter elaborates the significance of this research as well as its likely
contribution in the domain of Indian legal jurisprudence. It goes on to depict the review
of current available literature on the research problem and reaches to the conclusion that
though a lot of literature, in the form of books, articles, journals and research papers, is
now available on Cyber law, however, in view of the rapid recent technological
developments, there is hardly any inter-disciplinary research on consumer protection in
Cyber-marketing (e-Commerce). There is need for updated studies in this newly
expanding area of law.

Chapter two, entitled Information Technology and E-Commerce in the Cyberspace: An

Overview of Nature of Commerce in Information Technology Era, introduces to the
readers the background in which the entire Cyber marketing is carried out. It reflects a
clear and elaborative picture of new platform of online shopping in ‘e-Market’ for
consumers. The important issue here is to provide an overview of changing facets of
Indian commerce from physical commerce to e-Commerce. This chapter also gives a
mirror image of modified form of commerce from physical (bania commerce) to virtual
(‘Cyber’ or ‘e’) commerce. It provides a brief sketch of the history of Internet, thereby
setting the backdrop in which e-Commerce or e-marketing operates. This chapter
highlights the fact that in the new digital economy there is direct relationship between
‘developments of e-Commerce’ and ‘Consumer Protection’ in an online market for the
ontogenesis of Indian economy. It sketches that in order to ensure sustainable growth of
Indian ‘e’- economy it is prerequisite to actively address the issue of protection of rights
of consumers in e-Commerce.
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Chapter three, entitled Concept of Consumerism in E-Commerce: A Reflection of
Journey of Consumers from Consumerism to E-Consumerism in India, chalks out a
detailed discussion on the term ‘Consumerism’. This chapter also discusses how the
concept of ‘Consumerism’ has undergone a transformation in the Internet age. In this
research, a new term ‘e-Consumerism’ has been introduced and an overview of journey
of consumers from the movement of consumer protection in physical or traditional
commerce (known as consumerism) to movement of consumer protection or activism in
cyberspace has been given. This movement of consumer protection or consumer
activism in cyberspace is termed as e-Consumerism. This text comes up with a simple
tool of the ‘e-Consumerism Policy Matrix’ that attempts to evolve standards for
providing shield to rights of consumers in an online shopping. It is pertinent to mention
that ‘e-Consumerism’ is entirely an ignored phenomenon in Indian consumer protection
jurisprudence.

Chapter four, entitled Human Rights of Consumers in Indian Jurisprudence: A Glimpse

of Threats to Consumers in E-Commerce, explores and examines the most important
facet of the legal planet, namely, the Human Rights perspective of consumers. Hence
the main stress is laid on the violations of basic Rights of consumers in Cyber-
marketing or online shopping in order to find out remedies. This chapter acts as a
connecting chapter with chapter five and six as chapter four highlights major threats to
consumers in an online shopping in brief, however, an explanation of these threats and
their legal ramifications are discussed in the next chapters. The important issue in this
text is to highlight threats to the Rights of Consumers in an online–world; that are
termed as ‘Old Frauds in New Bottles’. In the context of chapter four the focus is
moved from ‘e-Consumerism’ to threats to ‘e-Consumerism’ in practice. It reflects
practical difficulties in the implementation of concept of ‘e-Consumerism’ in online
shopping.

Chapter five, entitled Legal Validity of E-Contracts: A Study with Special Reference to
Consumer Contracts in Online Shopping, examines the legal complexities in giving a
status of online contract as a valid contract. It similarly concentrates on all the
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requirements of valid contract in physical world and its application on the contracts
concluded in Cyberspace. It goes on highlighting the fact that the unrestricted operation
of cyberspace and Internet produces a platform where consumers are unable, either by
reason of technical expertise or bargaining power, to negotiate in any meaningful
fashion concerning the terms under which goods or services are supplied. Often the
choice is between accepting the supplier’s terms and conditions or doing without the
goods or services examined. This chapter throws light on the anonymity mystery in
identifying the defendant, the difficulties of conferring a legal validity to contracts
concluded by mistake, misrepresentation fake websites and many more unresolved
issues regarding e-Contracts in e-Commerce in India.

Chapter six, entitled E-Banking in Online Shopping: A Study with Special Emphasis on
Emerging Threats to Consumers in E-Banking Transactions, enumerates the relevance
of e-Banking in our day to day life. This chapter is connected with the chapter five in
such a way that any contract is declared void if it is not supported with valid
consideration. In an online shopping, valid consideration is tendered with virtual
banking or e-Banking via credit card, smart card, gold card and other mechanism of
online monetary transfers. It discusses various case-laws on frauds to consumers in e-
Banking and legal control mechanism in this regard in India. It goes on to sketch mainly
the frauds to consumers in an online world as any contract or commercial transaction is
invalid without movement of money (consideration). It reveals the fact this movement
of money, via e-Commerce mode of payments, has become haven for cheaters or
criminals. The special emphasis has been given to legal control mechanism and judicial
attitude to deal with frauds in e-Banking transactions.

Chapter seven, entitled Indian Jurisprudence on Consumer Protection in E-Commerce:

A Critical Study, is divided into two parts. Part-I entitled ‘Indian Law on Consumer
Protection: Tracing the Footprints from Ancient India to 21st Century’ traces the
ancient history of Indian consumer protection from the olden times up to 21 st century
and thereby highlights that although the problems of consumers were different during
ancient Hindu, Muslim and British period, but the fact remains that India has a long
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history of consumer considerations. This chapter discusses all the Indian statutory
enactments on consumer protection in the pre-independence era, post-independence era,
modern era and post-modernist era in detail and it is concluded that there is hardly any
specific legislation for the shield to Rights of consumers in e-Commerce, particularly in
an online shopping.

Part-II of this chapter seven, entitled ‘Indian Law on E-Commerce: A Critical Analysis
of the Information Technology Act, 2000’ focuses on the e-Commerce Laws in India.
On the basis of the UNCITRAL Model Law of Electronic Commerce 1996, India has
enacted the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 for the regulation of activities on
the Internet. In India the Bible of Cyber law and moreover the only e-Commerce law is
the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Amendment)
Act, 2008. In the present research a comparative study is done between Model Law
1996 and the IT Act, 2000 from the perspective of protection of consumers in e-
Commercial transactions. An analysis of various Indian legislations for the protection of
consumers in cyberspace is made and an attempt is made to highlight the actual
glimpses of consumer concerns in courts.

Chapter eighth, entitled Emerging Trends in Online Shopping and E-Banking: An

Empirical Study to Evaluate Trust and Security Parameters for Online Consumers in
Indian Cyber Law, depicts a very close look of attitude of general public towards online
shopping. This research has used the ‘Questionnaire Method’ as a research method with
an objective to examine consumer trust and its determinants in the context of Internet
shopping. A survey questionnaire containing 50 statements was administered to a
convenient sample of 600 sampling units from North India including University
students of (i) Law Department, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, (ii)
Law College, Dehradun in Uttranchal University, Uttrakhand, (iii) Delhi University
Law Centre-I, North Campus, New Delhi, Bank Managers and Businessmen who do
online shopping. In this research, at the time of selection of samples, ‘Convenient
Sampling’ as a type of Sampling Method has been adhered to. The results are analysed
and reasoned out in the chapter.
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Chapter ninth, entitled Conclusion and Suggestions, has reflected a brief picture of
entire theme that runs behind this research. It has highlighted glimpses of eight chapters
with their aim and conclusions laid down therein by researcher. It sums up the main
findings of the study and, on the basis of those findings, researcher has suggested
suitable modifications in the Information Technology Act, 2000 (The Information
Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008).

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