Kerala Cabinet proposes to modify Police Act to act on cybercrimes against women 

The Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday announced its proposal to amend the Kerala Police Act following concerns over cyber crimes against women. The state government observed that given the nature of the crimes, the state Police Act needed to be amended since existing legal provisions were 'inadequate' in preventing such crimes.

"Some of the recent crimes committed using cyber platforms have caused great concern among women. Cyber attacks are also a major threat to private life. It has been decided to amend the Police Act as it is found that the existing legal provisions are inadequate to prevent such crimes," the state cabinet observed.

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Changes proposed

The Kerala Cabinet has recommended the addition of Section 118-A to the existing Kerala Police Act. Under this, it has proposed imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to Rs 10,000 or both for cybercrimes including those along the lines of social media harassment. The state government is likely to approach Governor Arif Mohammad Khan requesting him to issue the new amendment as an ordinance. 

Kerala Government's decision comes months after the Kerala High Court pointed out the growing hate and slanderous propaganda over social media platforms during the proceedings of a case. Observing the harms of this 'growing trend', the Kerala High Court had asked the Chief Secretary and the State Police Chief to take the matter into cognizance and to put an end to the rising trend of hate campaigns over social media. 

"Section 66-A of the IT Act 2000 and Section 118 (d) of the Kerala Police Act, 2011 were quashed by the Supreme Court on the ground that it was against freedom of expression. The Central Government has not introduced any other legal framework to replace this. In this situation, there is a situation where the police are not able to deal effectively with crimes committed through social media. In view of all this, it was decided to amend the law," said Kerala Chief Minister's office.

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(With Agency Inputs)