CASE ANALYSIS

ON
“INVASION OF PRIVACY
OVER INTERNET”

Presented By
Soni Jagruti

Prajna P

Vani Mahajan
 FACTS ABOUT THE CASE IN
THE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
 Abhinav is a student of a renowned school.


 Use of his cell phone by Abhinav to take a video of a girl

romancing with him.


 MMS of the clippings sent to his friends by him when the girl
broke up with him.


 Students of IIT Kharagpur found that clip and shared it on the

Local Area Network.

 Ravi Raj, a student of IIT Kharagpur, uploaded the clipping on
Bazee.com for making money after clicking the “I Accept” icon
which signified that he had read the terms and conditions.

  The CEO of Bazee.com, Mr. Avinash Bajaj was held responsible
initially for the act of third parties.


 Bajaj was arrested under Section 67 of the IT act, 2000 for

“publishing of information which is obscene in electronic
form”.


 The clipping was on the website from 27th November to 29th

November, 2004.


 Police claimed a recovery of Rs. 17800 from Ravi Raj, which he

had allegedly raised through the sale.


 The clip was posted on the Bazee.com site only after the poster
(Ravi Raj) had clicked the terms and conditions of the site,
which clearly prohibited the posting of pornographic materials.
 The Information Technology
Act, 2000

 The IT Act is a comprehensive piece of legislation,

which aims at policing some of the activities over
the Internet. The fundamental approach of the Act
is towards validating and legalizing electronic
and on-line transactions. The Act, 2000 fills the
critical gaps in e-banking by providing protection
against the possible abuse and misuse of services.
OBJECTS

 To provide legal recognition to transactions



 To facilitate electronic filing of documents



 To bring suitable amendments to the existing laws in pursuit

of the objectives of the Act.


 To give favorable consideration to the model law

recommended by UNCITRAL to maintain harmony with
international laws.
 PROVISION OF LAW REGARDING
TRANSFER OF OBSCENE MATERIAL
(Section 67)

 Imprisonment upto 5 years and fine upto Rs.1 lakh

for first conviction.
 and
 Imprisonment upto 10 years and fine upto Rs.2 lakh
for second and subsequent convictions.

ISSUES

1) Are the students liable for circulating MMS

clippings?
2)
3) Is the network provider liable for providing a
marketplace for buyers and sellers to transect
obscene material?
4)
5) Can e-Bay and the CEO of Bazee.com be made liable
for selling and buying obscene material?
6)
 ISSUE 1

 Law prohibits minors from viewing certain age restricted

films.


 The Child and Youth Welfare Code, Presidential Decree

No. 603 defines youthful offender as “one who is over
nine years but under twenty-one years of age at the time
of the commission of the offense.” A child nine years of
age or under at the time of the offense shall be exempt
from criminal liability and shall be committed to the care
of his/her father or mother, or nearest relative or family
friend in the discretion of the court and subject to its
supervision.

 ISSUE 2:

 According to Section 79 of Information Technologies’ Act

2000, “no person providing any service as a network
service provider shall be liable under this Act, rules or
regulations made there under for any third party
information or data made available by him if he proves
that the offence or contravention was committed without
his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence
to prevent the commission of such offence for
contravention.”

ISSUE 3:
CLICK-WRAP AGREEMENT


 The buyer or user explicitly assents to the terms and

conditions by clicking on a button stating “I agree” or “I
accept” after having had an opportunity to review the
terms which enhances its enforcibility.

 According to Section 67, “ Whoever publishes or transmits or
causes to be published in the electronic form, any material
which is lascivious or appeal to the prurient interest or if its
effect is such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who
are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to
read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it,
shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of
either description for a term which may extend to five years
and with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees and in
the event of a second or subsequent conviction with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may
extend to ten years and also with fine which may extend to
two lakh rupees.”

 JUDGEMENT
 The Website owners of Bazee.com and e-Bay
cannot be held liable for the act with respect
to the click wrap agreements. This is because
the terms and conditions for posting any
video on the site were clearly mentioned
there. In spite of that, Ravi Raj posted that
obscene video which was strictly prohibited
by the website.
 Ravi Raj can be held liable for his act under
Section 67 of IT Act, 2000. The consequences
of his act can be-
 Imprisonment upto 5 years and fine upto Rs.1
lakh for first conviction.
 Imprisonment upto 10 years and fine upto Rs.2
lakh for second and subsequent convictions.
 The network service provider cannot be held
liable as per Section 79 of IT Act, 2000.
 

 THANK YOU