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Those Who Send Obscene SMSs Can Face Jail Time Under IT Act

Mateen Hafeez & Shibu Thomas | TNN

Over the last two years, the cyber crime cell has received only 200 complaints from people who were victims of obscene text and multimedia messages. However, police estimate that there are many more people who are suffering silently. Victims, most of whom are women, are hesitant to approach the police even though there are stringent laws under the amended Information Technology (IT) Act. The seventeen-year-old student of L S Parkar College at Goregaon (W) who lodged a complaint against her professor last week for sending her lewd text messages is an exception to the norm, said the police. The lecturer, Rahul Sarangle, was arrested and booked under Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 66(A) of the IT Act.

According to advocate Arfan Sait who practises at the Bombay high court, India is one of the few countries that has the harshest punishments for transmitting vulgar SMSs and MMSs through mobile phones and over the internet. In other words, sending obscene messages or emails could land an offender in jail. “There are various sections under the IPC that can be applied including outraging the modesty of a woman and obscenity,’’ said Sait.

An SMS is considered an electronic record, as the mobile phone comes under the category of ‘computer’ under the IT Act.

Earlier, suspects would be booked for outraging the modesty of a woman. But under Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act, if a person is convicted of the charge of sending an obscene SMS, he could face up to five years in jail and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. If the same person is caught a second time, he faces 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2 lakh. The offences are categorized as cognizable crimes.

Lesser punishments can also be imposed under the IPC—ranging from Section 209 (obscene act in public place), Section 354 (outraging a woman’s modesty by assaulting her) and Section 509 (outraging a woman’s modesty by word or gesture or act). Critics, however, say that while the law has a nasty bite, convictions are rare. “While the police register cases, there are hardly any convictions,” said an official.

Harsh Laws
Under Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the IT Act, if a person is convicted of the charge of sending an obscene SMS, he could face up to five years in jail and a fine of Rs 1 lakh
If the same person is caught a second time, he faces 10 years imprisonment and a fine of
Rs 2 lakh
The police can also invoke Sections 66 A (sending offensive messages through communication service), 66 E (violation of privacy) of the IT Act
Depending on the nature of the case, the police can also arrest a person under Section 509 (outraging the modesty of a woman) of the IPC, punishment for which is two to seven years

SEXTING CELEBRITIES
March 2008 | A Delhi-based BCom graduate was arrested and brought to Mumbai for allegedly sending obscene text messages to Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen
February 2007 | The police arrested a freelance mediaperson for allegedly sending obscene phone messages to an aspiring actress and dancer
March 2007 | Actor Nagma has filed a complaint with the Bandra police stating she was a victim of a string of threatening and vulgar SMSs
STATUS | All the cases are under trial
New trend of sexting can have disastrous outcome & ruin lives
India is not without its share of sexting tales; the most infamous being the widely circulated MMS of two Delhi high school students in 2004.

Said Nishant Shah, director (research) of the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society, “Sexting is essentially about mobile phones. While there is no study in India on sexting, it’s obvious from our sessions with youngsters that sexting is a part of the new communication patterns emerging among young people.”

At times, sexting can have disastrous outcomes. While Chitra is a nervous wreck who feels she may have invited the sexts with her behaviour, American teen Jessica Logan committed suicide in 2008 after her ex-boyfriend circulated nude pictures that she had earlier in their relationship MMSed him. Shah said, “During our research in Bihar, we came across youngsters in that state who have suffered a great deal when an older family member read SMSs that they had sent.”

Any text message to a male friend could be misconstrued as sexting in non-metro parts of India,
he added. Experts said that measures should be taken by families and society at large to protect youngsters from the ills of sexting. “Victims could feel shocked, violated and frightened,’’ said Dr Shetty. “The words jump from the screen bringing a deep sense of disgust and a feeling of pain. The experience may be converted to bad memories if counselling is not done.’’

The Times of India, June 19, 2011