Information Technology Act, Unauthorized Access and Computer-Related Offences
Information Technology Act 2000 (No. 21 of 2000), as amended by the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 (No. 10 of 2009), ss. 43, 66
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force since 17 October 2000.
A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 7 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not access, or secure access to, a computer, computer system or computer network, or download, copy or extract data from it, without the permission of its owner or the person in charge of it.
- Doing so dishonestly or fraudulently is a criminal offence carrying up to three years' imprisonment or a fine of up to five lakh rupees, or both, in addition to a civil compensation claim by the affected person that carries no upper limit.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
Imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or a fine which may extend to five lakh rupees, or both, under section 66, where the section 43 conduct is done dishonestly or fraudulently.
Penalty structure
Section 66's criminal fine cap of five lakh rupees. Section 43's own civil compensation, for the same underlying conduct without the dishonest-or-fraudulent element, carries no cap since the 2009 amendment (Act 10 of 2009) removed the original one-crore-rupee ceiling.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- 7 September 2026
- Currency
- INR
- Fixed cap
- 500,000
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Section 43 makes any person who, without the permission of a computer resource's owner or the person in charge of it, accesses or secures access to it, or downloads, copies or extracts data from it, liable to pay damages by way of compensation to the person so affected; the 2009 amendment that substituted this closing language removed the original one-crore-rupee ceiling, so the civil compensation now carries no cap. Section 66 makes the same conduct, done dishonestly or fraudulently, a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or a fine which may extend to five lakh rupees, or both.
The Act has applied since its own commencement, 17 October 2000, per the Central Government's notification under section 1(3).
When LexLint raises it
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