The 377 and beyond

http://www.cybervictims.org Blog by Dr.Debarati Halder

With almost every free-thinking Indian getting shocked and surprised by the recent Supreme court decision to set aside the High court decision on the constitutionality of S.377 of the Indian penal Code, I can’t stop but share my thoughts on the issue. S. 377 is one of those penal laws created by the British rulers which has become obsolete in the eyes of the modern society, but sitting like an obstinate law due to the recent ruling of the Supreme Court of India. What does S.377 say? It actually criminalises unnatural sexual relationship and thereby touches the Lesbian ,Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community as well. I am one of those, who as a child were quite afraid of those ‘women’ who were not completely women. I grew up watching them in the trains, bus stops, roads, eateries and sometimes at weddings and family functions where (I was told) their presence was needed as a good omen. I continued to be ‘afraid’ of them till the day I met one who is one of them. That was way back in 1990’s when they used to socialise with people rarely. I knew how wonderful human being this person was and they as a group are more reliable friends than those who cheat and harass others in the name of friendship. I was particularly interested in their on-line presence. I did get to see lots of communities and groups in Orkut way back in 2008 and afterwards. When Orkut started losing its popularity, I searched them in other popular social media like the Facebook and found that they existed in several public, private as well closed groups. A fascinating fact that I would like to share is, while transgender, in many academic writings who are described as ‘cross dressers’, openly advertise about their sexual as well as physical appearance choices, many gay, lesbians and bisexuals take to internet often to secretly share their choices. Nonetheless, I did deal with online victimisation of such people who were violently bullied in  public forums as well as private chat messages. The pain is no less than that of any normal men or women suffering from adult bullying or hate messages. Why stopping with this? it has become a trend to tease a man by calling him a ‘gay’ or a woman a ‘lesbian’ and go on-line bragging about it  if a perpetrator wishes to bring huge embarrassment to his/her victim with immediate effect. I consider this as an insult to the LGBT community. It is a personal choice of sexual affiliation and no one should tag a person who has straight likings to be like one from the LGBT community may have. Similarly, LGBT community should have their own privacy and they deserve respect even if it is in an on-line presence. Constitutionality of S.377 has actually encouraged those who feel bullying LGBT community people is their right as such sorts of sexual preferences are seen as ‘wrong’ not only by a major sect of the society, but by the court itself.

Now, look at the practical scenario:

i. In Tamil Nadu, one transgender was provided government health worker’s job, another was given a home guard’s job as a ‘woman’ (See http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/india/2013/12/131215_transgender_home_gaurd_sr.shtml?ocid=socialflow_facebook_hindi). If S.377 is constitutional, then these ‘government appointments’ are bound to be affected.

ii. On-line groups and communities speaking about LGBT rights, often share information about each other. Many put up their profile status as bi-sexual, gay or lesbian in their Facebook profiles. Would this not be considered a ‘crime’ if the individual is an Indian national? If anyone feels this can be considered so, think of right to equality, freedom of speech and expression and of course right to personal preferences and right to life which has extended its scope to cover right to privacy.

iii.While I am an ardent supporter of S.66A of the Information Technology Act, which restricts some categories of speech in the internet, I also fear that this provision would lose its power if any one belonging to LGBT community wishes to avail it to prevent and punish those who would have hurled hate speech, death threats, sexual assaults to him/her just because his/her sexual preferences.

The practical scenario becomes graver as majority of Indian families deject adolescent children to attend sex education classes. But see the irony: many mothers love to dress up  their young male children as baby girls with ‘girlie’ gowns, fairy wings complete with lipsticks. Many mothers also prefer to dress up their baby girls in boy’s dresses with half pants, shorts , shirts and encourage them to pick up toys exclusively tagged for ‘boys’ just for a ‘photo-sake’. Well, young parents love to show off their children ‘cross dressed’ but they forget that once floated, these pictures, images or videos can stay back for a long time in the web; it can actually make the child extremely embarrassed when he/she starts using the social media and his/her friends and peers take a look at their ‘babyhood’ pictures and how their parents wanted show them off to the world. Many adult ‘cross-dressers’ did confess in many forums that they took up liking for what they are now, due to their childhood experiences. But do note that these adults are ‘net immigrants’ who have taken the internet as a part of their lives not very long ago. If the young parents are showing off their babies (who would be true netizens) in such fashion, ask yourself on whom the liability lies to show the path? If this is the legal scenario, would the parents be able to counsel their children who may go through major psychological changes due to this? Probably not.  Couple of weeks ago I heard this painful story of a co-passenger who was telling her friend how no one in her family supports her since she has become a ‘she’ from being a ‘he’ and how the possible employers ask them to leave right from the door step by seeing a ‘manly woman’. Yes, she has a boyfriend, but he meets her secretly because he does not have courage to accept a ‘former man’ as his legal partner. Online bullying of LGBT people is almost always based on these very facts which are painful realities.

There is one silver line in this dark cloud: the Supreme Court did observe that S.377 is constitutional. But at the same time, it also stated that it is open for the parliament to decide the final fate of it ( See  http://barandbench.com/comment/44159#.Uq6CStIW3g0), even though this is neither an ‘unchallenged fact’, (See http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-wrongness-of-deference/article5463126.ece), Law makers, please consider.  Law makers, please consider.

Please Note: Do not violate copyright of this blog. If you would like to use informations provided in this blog for your own assignment/writeup/project/blog/article, please cite it as “Halder D. (2013), “The 377 and beyond”, 16^th December,2013, published in http://cybervictims.blogspot.com/”

The value of good talk in the electronic communication devices

http://www.cybervictims.org by Dr. Debarati Halder

In a recent workshop on cyber crime I was delighted to hear how young people use the social media in unique ways which were not known before. Interacting with the participants made me understand that people are taking social media more casually than before. Remember the advertisement of a particular mobile phone company where a lift man asks a young professional “will you be my Facebook friend”? As many researchers have pointed out, cheap access to internet has made more and more people getting into it; but there is a huge lack understanding of the netiquettes. Be it social media, email communication or sending SMSs, it has become a norm to send ‘smilies’, slang words or even apparently vulgar words when the communication involves two or more friends who catch up each other for casual chat. This trend has proved dangerous time and again. Especially when the matured teens or young adults are involved and they do not hold a back ground of erudite families, the problem becomes bigger. India has a large sect of urban slum population which uses indecent language in everyday life. Be it wife abuse, elder abuse, child abuse in the slums  or even drunken men making nuisance in public places, we do get to hear such sorts of words which prick minds of any educated individual; however,  I do agree that usage of bad words in domestic violence are not limited to slums only. Many of us strictly believe that the language used by elders has a huge impact on the children at home. Truly, I have seen many instances where children at a very young age started picking up the not so decent language trend and it did reflect in their social communication skill. When in school, such usage of the language may turn them into huge bullies; not to forget that there are several restrictions in freedom of speech that is guaranteed by our constitution and these children and young adults like their peers, may even unknowingly fall in the other side of law when they communicate in such unconstitutional language.

In the workshop I had asked several teachers whether they are aware of any bullying incidences including cyber bullying. Not many could answer and this showed how bullying still remains unrecognised in our country. While real life bullying does not get due attention, what can we think about online bullying? Many youngsters including college students do not understand that with a technology that helps in communicating need for understanding the value of ‘good talks’ is increasing. In India, an easiest way to trigger violence is to hurt one with community sentiments. I could not stop myself from alerting a matured teenager school student who was then residing in a private Home for poor students run by an  NGO adjacent to my home when I heard he was teasing somebody over phone by calling the recipient ‘neech jati’ ( people from lower cast). Probably the recipient also teased him in similar language, but what these children were unaware of was, they were slowly entering a big bad world unknowingly by constantly flouting the law which is meant to maintain decency of language. The boy probably had seen his peers or parents addressing others in similar fashion; but this proves how essential it has become to teach children the need to use good language while communicating over electronic devices. Nonetheless, with Diwali knocking at the door, many would be experimenting with their handsets and you readers be prepared to receive prank calls, obscene SMSs and drunken calls. Unless we as a society understand the value of good talks over bad talks, there would be more such communications which will destroy our piece of minds and may even instigate unknown dangers.

Stay safe.

Please Note: Do not violate copyright of this blog. If you would like to use informations provided in this blog for your own assignment/writeup/project/blog/article, please cite it as “Halder D. (2013), “The value of good talk ”, 31^st October,,2013, published in http://cybervictims.blogspot.com/”

The positive side of social media

http://www.cybervictims.org

There have been lots of discussions on negativeness of social media. Children and women are considered as most vulnerable groups who can be targeted through social media and I completely agree with these views. But all is not always bad. Today completes exactly one month since I received my doctorate degree certificate from National Law School of India University, Bangalore on 1 st September, 2013. When my name was called by the Vice Chancellor and I marched towards the Hon’ble Chief justice of India who would be giving me the degree certificate, I realised that my time in the social media for past three years for almost 6 hours every day was not at all a wastage; for I built up my entire thesis on the social media and how it is being misused targeting women, how the laws are falling silent in front of the sharp abusive words that describe the victims in filthiest words and why  all is not well in the social media. A few principles that I followed to protect my digital identity were learnt from earlier researches, hugely read blogs and from my own experiences and these include keeping those information private which I never wanted to share with the world. I had a very bad experience of being stalked. Social media had nothing to do with it though, but keeping this in mind, i wanted to explore the social media and what i got in them was nothing but gems.

        Social media, as they promise, can bring  old friends back.  When I searched in Orkut, I got a whole lot of friends who were my best time buddies in the school. There were these two particular girls whom I never met since I was 12 years old. I got them back through Orkut and later got well connected through Facebook. We exchanged our phone numbers and talked for hours. They were not ‘fake avatars’( I coined this in my paper Halder, D. (2013). Examining the scope of Indecent representation of Women (Prevention) Act, 1986, in the light of Cyber Victimization. National Law School Journal, 11, 188-218)  They were real and I understood this when both of them shared particular incidents in the school that only we know. I got to know my seniors from the law college where I did my law under graduation course and each of them gave moral boosting to become what I am today. I searched for my classmates from the law college in the ‘groups’ and found out the whole gang after nearly 13 years of leaving the college. We still have virtual hang outs. We grew up together for five years and we were fresh from the high schools. Orkut and Facebook took me back to those golden days of young adulthood when almost all of us were running to the same dream: to wear the black gown and fight for justice. However, Facebook found us more matured when we would discuss about legal points, share our advanced knowledge and also grow our professional network. During my leisure time, I love  to watch the group behaviours in the social media. I actively participate in many group discussions and this has taught me the difference between ‘good talk’ and ‘bad talk’. I agree, if I had not experienced the ‘bad talks’, I would never had understood what are ‘good talks’. I still stay in many groups to learn many new ideologies of law. One such group proved to be extremely beneficial not only for my thesis, but also for my own understanding of practical aspects lawyering. I met some legal stalwarts and I was literally pampered by them when I wanted to clarify my doubts which arose while reading their works. Yes, Facebook brings you more close to your virtual professors and the ‘in- box’, if used properly can give you more than a ‘most sold’ book. Nonetheless, social media gave me opportunity to grow myself and read more current affairs. Believe me or not, i use Twitter to read the breaking news not only from one news channel, but from more than fifty domestic and international news channels, which are further shared by many Tweet- handles whom I religiously follow.

I am a Ph.d degree holder now and I may not apparently need to be glued to the social media anymore like before. But this addiction is for positive gain. This is especially so when one knows how and when to stop the virtual window and use the knowledge gained from it in real life.

Nonetheless, use social media for good and you may reap more than you sowed.

Please Note: Do not violate copyright of this blog. If you would like to use informations provided in this blog for your own assignment/writeup/project/blog/article, please cite it as “Halder D. (2013), “The positive side of social media”

October 1, 2013, published in http://debaraticyberspace.blogspot.com"  

      

5 (in)famous ways to become 'famous' in social media that one must avoid

http://www.cybervictims.org

In the last couple of weeks almost the whole of England was in labour with Kate Middleton who gave birth to the baby prince just a couple of days ago. Social media like the Twitter and Facebook were flooded with comments on this ‘trend’. The language used in these comments was noteworthy. Many news channels picked up good, bad, humorous and rebellious comments and instantly the comment makers became famous or (in)famous. While internationally “royal baby” could make an impact among the online update feeders, nationally many sensitive issues have influenced the good or badness of the social media. Be it the devastating Himalayan Tsunami, or the ill-fated marriage of Divya and Ilavarasan of Tamil Nadu, or the poisonous midday meals which killed so many school students in different parts of India, or the political situation; users of social media have used all these issues to express their own concerns. But the styles that have been adopted by some of these users motivated me to do a small research to know how some of them have got instant highlight for good or bad reasons. I list here some of the infamous ways to become famous, which a good netizens should always avoid:

1. Using harsh words to target the personal shortcomings including physical challenges of activists or political leaders or celebrities; one must understand they are also human beings and they feel pain as much as we ordinary individuals feel.

2.  Insulting the communal sentiments of others; no wonder, this may instantly trigger a riot.

3. Spreading false information and photo images; one can get huge numbers of ‘likes’ and followers. But think of the devastating consequences.

4. Trolling for unnecessary attention seeking; the troll may never understand that he/she may become a laughing stock very soon.

5. Posting awkward “selfie” pictures; while the contributor may attract huge attention either for him/herself, or for the background for which he/she put him/herself in the picture, this may finally be detrimental to the contributor if it involves breach of privacy or illegal activity especially when photography has been prohibited in that area.

        It must be remembered that internet is a way of life today. But that does not mean that usage of it should be detrimental to the society at large. A responsible netizen may get lime light for correct reason in due time. Short way to fame may not always be a good journey.

Please Note: Do not violate copyright of this blog. If you would like to use informations provided in this blog for your own assignment/writeup/project/blog/article, please cite it as “Halder D. (2013), “5  (in)famous ways to become famous in social media that one must avoid”, 29^th   July, 2013,  published in http://cybervictims.blogspot.com/”

A devastating Himalayan tsunami and a potentially destructive cyber connection

http://www.cybervictims.org

A week back Kedarnath temple and the surrounding area suffered a devastating natural disaster. While the ancient temple stood the test of nature’s fury, surrounding buildings, shafts and roads were washed away by the gushing water from River Mandakini. The news channels became busy to report the gravity of natural calamity, the human sufferings, the political blames and rescue operations. Some pointed out how the religious pilgrims described the scene as ‘Shiv-Tandav’, the destructing dance of the God. Being fed with stories from Shiv –mythology since my childhood, I was interested to see what has happened to the ancient temple. A search in the Google showed that while the ancient temple and sanctum sanatorium are intact, the calamity was really disastrous. Within days Facebook and YouTube got flooded with still and video images showing roads getting washed away, vehicles both heavy as well as light getting topsy-turvy in the flood water and building constructions moving away like storm wrecked boats. Some of these videos were from local and little known news channels, some were private videos. I was astonished to see the mindset of people who captured these moments. Nonetheless, many news channels were encouraging people to send them photos and  videos of the flood situation and in one way I appreciate this people’s involvement as it is not only cost effective but also it spreads the feeling of remaining connected. But on the other hand, it can prove extremely dangerous and fatal. For instance, I got to see this video where two young men were taking pictures of themselves in the flooded footsteps leading to the ferociously flowing river somewhere near Rambara, the place which was most affected by the flood. The other images that I came across showed similar instances with men, women and children clicking the devastative flood water dangerously flowing in their background. Coincidentally I was reading a BBC report on selfie pictures (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/international/2013/06/130610_social_media_ra.shtml?ocid=socialflow_facebook_hindi ) and I posted my own comments in the comment section too. Never imagined though that there would be a situation so soon which would motivate me to consider the issue.

Then there was this image of flood water almost submerging a tall statue of Lord Shiv in meditating posture, which was shown by almost all the news channels. One should note the comments posted under this very particular scene which was floated in the YouTube by numerous users including news channels themselves. Some of these have every potential to start a religious riot or vicious trolling. Not to end with this, there was this picture of human bridge made by soldiers helping stranded people to move to safer places, which has started getting viral in the Facebook. Undoubtedly the army is doing a momentous job in rescuing stranded people. But my doubt increased when I searched internet for this particular picture. It was not related to Uttarakhand flood, but with some other natural disaster somewhere else. By the time I came back to alert my friend who had got this picture in the Facebook timeline, I got to see many comments. Not to forget what happened last year with the Azad maidan riots in Mumbai and exodus of people of north eastern from South Indian cities including Bangalore and Chennai, which was directly linked to misinformation fed by YouTube videos, I put a small note to my friend regarding the authenticity of the information (related to the Uttarakhand flood) accompanying this amazing act of humanity that is depicted in that particular picture.

It must be noted that while social media can be extremely helpful in times of disasters such as this, it can be dangerously vicious especially when it is used to convey misinformation or when it sets dangerous examples of ‘selfie’ photos to the young users.

Please Note: Do not violate copyright of this blog. If you would like to use informations provided in this blog for your own assignment/writeup/project/blog/article, please cite it as “Halder D. (2013), “A devastating Himalayan tsunami and potentially destructive cyber connection”, 22^nd  June, 2013,  published in http://cybervictims.blogspot.com/”

Social media: a child’s play ground?

http://www.cybervictims.org

Facebook and Twitter are the chosen grounds for many to express their thoughts, showcase their opinion and access the world around. YouTube stands as a favourite platform to showcase one’s activities or see others’ activities. All of these allure people belonging to different ages right from the age group of 13. Why 13? The High court of Delhi, India has raised a very valid question, which came up in the public interest litigation filed by former BJP leader K.N. Govindacharya.(see http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/illegal-for-minors-to-open-facebook-account-petition/article4654571.ece?homepage=true). Popular social media like the Facebook, Twitter etc are hosted in the US and the age limit has been set by the rules and regulations of the hosting nation. But in India the age of majority is restricted to 18. This is the valid age for voting, to get a proper driver license, to get married (for girls especially) and to form a contract. But in reality, all these norms are violated in different ways; for example, there are umpteen numbers of child marriages still happening in various interior parts of India; driving light vehicles to even heavy vehicles by children belonging to the age group of 13 to 18 are neither uncommon scene. The flaunting of disobeying the ‘age law’ is now more prominent after the 9 year old Ferrari driver was hugely exhibited in a private road in Kochi, Kerala through YouTube(see http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Kerala-father-arrested-for-letting-9-year-old-boy-drive-his-Ferrari/Article1-1052503.aspx . The YouTube exhibition drew attention of large number of people including the police and the father of the 9 year old is now being prosecuted. Regarding the contract by juveniles, S.11 of the Indian contract Act maintains that contracts made by minors are void especially when it relates to profit making by both or either of the party.

But when it comes to creating an account in the popular social media, the confusion of understanding demands better reading. Facebook, Twitter and Google have options for children to become users once they become 13. But in reality, children below 13 also find Facebook, Twitter and YouTube extremely alluring and I have personally seen many parents encouraging their children to communicate to their friends through parent’s profiles. This is also evident from the Base Line Survey report of cyber victimisation in India that we had conducted in 2010( seehttp://www.cybervictims.org/CCVCresearchreport2010.pdf) . Given this fact, when over 13, children actually become pretty much aware of the Facebook usages. But it may be noted that Facebook does not allow registering when the user is below 13. It is similar for Google and Twitter. However, , many under age children may have their profiles with fake age as these social media do not have real life age verification methods. But the concern lies in the fact as to what the children can access through these social media. There are many unclaimed images which often go viral in the social media. Greatest examples could be that of Delhi gang rape victim’s photo or that of children being raped. These are not only traumatising for children only, they create shock for adult viewers also. Similarly, older adolescent children are at higher risk for becoming cyber perpetrators like hacking. Many older children have also got into creating fake profiles of others, especially girls and adult women as well.

But not to ignore the advantages of social media also. Government as well as non-governmental educational portals, scientific bodies etc embrace Facebook and Twitter for showcasing latest news and developments. A matured handling of the social media can make a user gain more knowledge and experience. Undoubtedly, this depends upon the parents, teachers and peers to make the child use the social media for good. The Ferrari boy YouTube incidence stands a good example for the parents as well as children as how much parental control and guidance is necessary, what should not be allowed by parents and what should be done with internet era children and how it should be done. But at the same time, the video can actually make many under-age children take the same steps to do illegal activities if they are access the video without proper parental guidance. Perhaps here lies the concern of the Delhi High court. But the society has to accept the growing level of maturity and responsibility of children as well. Let us hope that the Delhi High court case brings out a good judgement which sets a path breaking example of welfare judgement in the light of modern internet era.

Please Note: Do not violate copyright of this blog. If you would like to use informations provided in this blog for your own assignment/writeup/project/blog/article, please cite it as “Halder D. (2013), “Social media: a child’s play ground?”, 2^nd  May, 2013,  published in http://cybervictims.blogspot.com/”

Death penalty debates: a note to the supporters

http://www.cybervictims.org

Since the news of execution of death sentence of Afzal Guru, one of the prime accused of Indian Parliament attack case came out, India as well as the world seems to be divided into two groups: one who is saying no to death penalties, and the other who is saying yes to the death penalties. Unfortunately India is witnessing a killing spree which has become almost viral right from 16^th December,2012 when the Delhi gang rape victim was brutally raped. The 23 year old young woman was raped, stripped off and thrown out of the bus where she was raped. Huge numbers of protesters showed their protest against this cruel torture on the woman by saying yes to the death penalty. Internet was swept by such ‘demands’. One experienced woman journalist of a national news channel shared with me personally  her fear that from now on all news papers/media channels will show case rape cases and their handling by the government agencies. She sadly told me that most media houses will go ahead with such news mainly to grow their TRP rates, but at the same time she feared that the result would be devastating. She was true! Anger of people kept on rising whenever there was any news of sexual assault and related death of the victim. The last was none other than the acid attack victim from Chennai who succumbed to death just a few days ago. Unfortunately   there is an extremely dark history in our country which would show that many raped and subsequently dead women victims are extremely neglected by the criminal justice machinery. The Mathura rape case stands as the ugly evidence of abuse and misuse  of power when it comes to providing justice to rape victims such as Mathura. The law has been amended time and again to test the strength of S.376 IPC which prescribes punishment for rape and its series which includes intercourse with a woman misusing the accused person’s designation (even that of a husband  when he involves in intercourse with the wife during  separation ) and its punishment. .While in some cases of brutal rape and then subsequent murder of the victim, the lawyers appearing for the victim (as well as the State) could actually convince the judges to award the death penalty (see Dhananjay Chatterjee Alias Dhana vs State Of W.B. on 11 January, 1994, 1994 (1) ALT Cri 388, 1994 (2) BLJR 1231), with the help of S.302 of the Indian Penal Code, S.376 originally did not prescribe death as the ultimate punishment for violent rape. As it can be seen, India does have death penalty and it is used for rarest of the rare cases. The language of Section 302 of the Indian penal Code prescribes death penalty as the first preference for punishment for murder. The second preference remains life imprisonment which is shown as a substitute to death penalty by adding an  “or” in front of the words “life imprisonment”. The pecuniary punishment of fine comes as an added prescribed punishment  with it. While this provision is a common punishment provision for ‘cold blooded’ murders (which actually excludes culpable homicides not amounting to murder, or cases of causing death by negligence etc), S.121 of the Indian Penal Code also prescribes death penalty as the first preference (again linguistically) and life imprisonment with fine as the second preference for (i) waging war against the government of India, or (ii) attempting to wage such war, or (iii) abetting the waging of such war.  It was not till  the recent Criminal law(amendment )ordinance, 2013 which   mention awarding death penalty for brutal rape which would leave the victim dead or in a vegetative condition(see s.376A of the Indian penal code of the Criminal law (amendment ) ordinance,2013, published on 4^th February,2013 in the Press Information Bureau of India, available @http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=91979) that death penalty was accepted as the extreme punishment for rape of such nature. On a personal note, I  actually support inclusion of this penalty as the last option especially for rarest of the rare cases if taken in its true meaning (the framers of the this ordinance has kept the option of ‘death’ as the last option in line, beginning with prison sentence for twenty years as the first option, which may extend for life). The ordinance made a sect of people happy as it carried out the retributive aspect of sentencing violent crimes against women. Apparently this section comprised of people who went for  on-line petitions, debates and write-ups which actually wanted the prime accused of this rape case to be hanged  or chemically castrated.   The  ordinance  simultaneously made another sect of people disappointed as it upheld ‘constitutional murder’. Immediately after the publication of this ordinance, came the ‘shocking news’ of execution of Afzal Guru which was done without any prior publicity. Actually it was highly speculated in the internet especially after the hanging of Ajmal Kasab in 2012. I came across so many cartoon and  images, short notes and write-ups in the Facebook itself and also in the Twitter which indicated that many people wanted to see the terrorists hanged. The on-line debates brewed up on the sentiments of people. Undoubtedly the demands of hanging of  the brutal rapists and dangerous terrorists who have caused bloody death to many found their own ways of convincing ways. Such posts in the social media did not get removed, but it was seen as a plain case of   freedom of speech and expression which expressed anger and frustration over the delayed process of law in seeing the result  of the rape law amendment or parliament attack case or 26/11 case. These  demands of death penalty especially for the gang rape accused got almost viral in the social media. I find the supporting grounds behind this ‘desperateness’ in some of the land mark death penalty verdicts which considered rarest of rare cases to award the penalty such as  in Machchi Singh Vs. The state (1983)3SCC,470 etc.

I sadly observe that this turn of events actually made some people or groups of people obsessive with death penalties. Many are attacking activists who are against death penalty with harsh and extremely humiliating words in the web platforms such as Twitter. Such activists, especially women activists are targeted by trolls in very offensive words. It needs to be remembered that  if supporters for death sentence can use their freedom of speech and expression in the social media, supporters against death penalty are no aliens who would be rejected this prime right. This pseudo anger over non supporters is carried out through peculiar ways ; some call these non supporters ‘traitors’, some openly throw challenges to breach the dignity of the person (this especially happens for women activists). While all of these sorts of speeches can actually be booked under S.66A of the Information Technology Act, I am yet to research on how many targeted non-supporters have actually taken this path. But at the same time, I would not be surprised if any of the non supporters is again dragged to the police station for expressing his/her views against death penalty as had happened for the Palghar girls’ case who was arrested for their Facebook remarks against the Mumbai shut down due to the death of veteran political leader BalSaheb Thackeray.   Judicial investigation revealed how the law was misused by political goons who forced the police to book the false case.

But, one serious note for the supporters of death penalty: stop throwing threatening /humiliating words to the non supporters. If they are really “traitors” let the court( and not the police only) decide it. Instead of taking law in your own hands or throwing it aside for the sake of hailing the capital punishment , test the power of  the law to judge whether their ways of protesting the death penalties really attracts the ‘protected speech’ category or not.

Please Note: Do not violate copyright of this blog. If you would like to use informations provided in this blog for your own assignment/writeup/project/blog/article, please cite it as “Halder D. (2013), “Death penalty debates: a note to the supporters”, 16^thFebruary,2013, published in http://cybervictims.blogspot.com/”

Now India can boast of an anti-stalking law

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The December 2012 brutal Delhi rape had given birth to numerous issues. This included knee jerking awakening regarding the safety of women and a feeling of insecurity due to too many laws but too less execution of them. The incidence had also showcased the need of new sensible laws which can protect women not only in theory, but also in practice. The best result of this painful incidence is probably the Justice Verma committee report on proposal to amend the criminal law of India. The report did promise to fill in many gaps which were left for so long by numerous law amendment committees. Undoubtedly one of the notable moves by this committee was giving legal recognition to the offence of Stalking.  In my blogs and many of my write-ups I had pointed out that we in India really needed a legal recognition for stalking. I had also pointed out in our 2010 report “Cyber victimization in India : A baseline survey report” that many individuals, including victims do not actually understand the nature of stalking, especially online stalking. In this report we had analysed online stalking as follows:

“In real life, stalking   if we analyze the US laws on stalking, the nearest explanation of cyber stalking could be found in Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 which  amended Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223(h)(1)) through Section 113 to include the use of any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet for the purpose of  ‘stalking’ , annoying and harassing others as penal offence. This US provision attempts to explain cyber stalking as follows;

Cyber stalking= following the victim’s internet activities  + using digital device, software to create  harassing, threatening , abusing mails/messages  etc + transmitting the said mail to the victim’s inbox and / or victim’s friends or relative’s inboxes + successfully creating fear, annoyance, irritation harassed feeling in the victim.

We feel those who never understood how stalking may have happened or whether stalking has at all happened or not, perhaps feel confused with the whole component parts of the stalking. In one word, when ‘following’ is added by Mens rea to commit harm and it is successfully digitally carried out, we can say cyber stalking has happened.”[1]

I am extremely happy to note that the Verma committee report in January, 2013 has built up anti stalking law quite in the same tune. The report suggests introduction of S.354C(1) to the Indian Penal code which defines stalking in following lines[2]

“Whoever follows a person or contacts or attempts to contact such person to foster personal interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest by such person or whoever monitors the use by a person of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication or watches or spies a person in a manner that results in fear of violence or serious alarm or distress, in the mind of such person or interferes with the mental peace of such person, commits the offence of stalking.”

Note that the proposed law specifically mentions the behavioural pattern in the offence of stalking which we in 2010 report summed up by stating  “when ‘following’ is added by Mens rea to commit harm and it is successfully digitally carried out, we can say cyber stalking has happened”. The proposed law has mixed up offline as well as online stalking giving much scope to experiment with S.66A of the Information Technology Act,2000(amended in 2008)(punishment for sending offending messages through communication services etc). The punishment that the proposed legal provision offers is however expanded from 1 year to 3 years and also with fine. This can actually bring the offence at par with S.66A of the IT Act.

          It is expected that this proposed provision would finally prove beneficial to harassers who take up stalking specially through cyber space to victimise others. Even though the proposed law is expected to draw criticism for its proviso and also for its effectiveness in the long run, it is still a welcome move.

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[1] See pg.12, Halder, D., & Jaishankar, K. (2010). Cyber Victimization in India: A Baseline Survey Report. Tirunelveli, India: Centre for Cyber Victim Counselling. Accessed on 25-01-2013

[2] See pg 437 of the Report of the committee on amendments to criminal law accessed from  @ http://ibnlive.in.com/news/full-text-justice-js-verma-committee-report-on-amendments-to-criminal-law/317383-53.html on 25.01.2013