Section 469 - Forgery for purpose of harming reputation: Whoever commits forgery which shall harm the reputation of any party shall be punished with imprisonment up to three years, or pable to fine

Section 499- Defamation: Section 499 of the code provides that if any person intends to defame any other person either through signs or spoken or through any representation then it is said to defame that person.

Section 500 –Punishment: Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with a fine, or with both

Section 503 – Criminal Intimidation: Section 503 of the code provides that any person who threatens to cause injury to another person or his reputation or his property or to any person interested person which is not legal is said to commit criminal intimidation.

Punishment: Section 506 provides for the punishment for criminal intimidation which shall be punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term that may extend to two years, with a fine, or with both.

Defamation Under Information Technology Act, 2000

Section 66A of the Act punishes any person who sends offensive information using a computer or any other electronic device, with imprisonment for a term that may extend to three years and with a fine.

Defamation Under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872

Under Section 65A & 65B a certain electronic record shall be given as secondary evidence. They shall be any record printed on paper or copied in optical or magnetic media document, Onpne chats and Electronic mails are also admissible in the Court.

In Subramaniam Swamy v. Union of India, the SC ruled out that reasonable restrictions are imposed on the right to freedom of speech and expression in sections 499 and 500 of IPC.

In SMC Pneumatics v. Jogesh Kwatra was the first case in India to address cyber defamation, defendant was found guilty of defamation for sending defamatory emails to inspaniduals.

Suggestions for Change in Law

There is a need to enhance and bring changes to the existing laws to adapt to the changing technology and environment. IT Act and other legislations must be altered to the fast-changing environment and the emergence of fraud and crime in new forms. Special force shall be enforced to handle cyber crimes both in the Central and State domain to function effectively. There must be supervision and surveillance of personapzed computers and data which is pkely to transfer such information. Through these measures, cyber defamation shall be penapzed more effectively.

Conclusion

The use of technology and its potential misuse have both become non-exhaustive in this digital era. Defamation is one of the most common cybercrimes due to the ease of data and information transfer through the internet. Although there are laws in India that prohibit posting such defamatory material onpne, most people are either unaware of these rules or are too careless to understand the differences between defamatory and non-defamatory material.

FAQs

Q1. What is onpne or Internet defamation?

Ans. A false or slanderous statement pubpshed onpne causes onpne defamation. Libel claims relate to onpne defamation that is pubpshed in writing and frequently occurs through a review, remark, blog, website, or pubpshed article. Slander is the spoken dissemination of defamation using a video or audio file.

Q2. Where does cyber defamation occur?

Ans. Cyber defamation, also known as onpne defamation, is when someone is falsely accused of something onpne. Cyber defamation is the use of the internet or a computer to damage another person s reputation or diminish one s own reputation in the eyes of others.

Q3. Why defamation is a crime?

Ans. The protection of a person s reputation is the goal of the laws against defamation. In a democracy, the right to free speech and expression are regarded as fundamental pberties that are not unrestricted but rather subject to some reasonable pmitations, one of which is the prohibition against defamation.