Going through a situation where someone is blackmailing you is one of the most stressful situations of one’s life. Right? But you can easily get help from the legal system of the country, especially if you live in India. There are specific rules laid out just for these different blackmail scenarios. Let’s find out what rules are in place against blackmail in India. Here we go.
Legal Provisions Against Blackmail In India
1. Section 384 IPC: Extortion
Starting with the basics, you see, within the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Section 384 deals with extortion. See, when someone says they will hurt or damage someone else if you don’t fulfill their requests, this is called extortion. Most of the time, these requests are for money, but sometimes they are for favors. Simply put, under this section of the IPC, anyone who’s found guilty under this kind of case can face up to three years of jail time, a huge fine, and even both. One thing to point out here, because extortion is a cognizable offense, the cops can arrest you without a warrant. On top of that, you cannot simply post bail, which makes it even harder to escape jail time before your hearing. That’s how it is.
2. Section 503 IPC: Criminal Intimidation
Then there is Section 503 of the IPC, which deals with illegal intimidation, which includes blackmailing too as a criminal offense. To put it in the simplest words possible, criminal intimidation means threatening to hurt someone’s image or property in order to get something from them. The act of threatening to share something embarrassing or harmful about you, if you don’t do what they want, is considered criminal intimidation. All in all, criminal laws take these kinds of threats very seriously because they can cause a lot of mental and emotional pain.
What Laws Are There Specifically Regarding Video Blackmail?
See, blackmailing someone through a private video or something like that is another serious offense, and anyone found guilty of such a crime can be charged under different rules and laws in the country. Let’s have a look:
1. Section 66E of the Information Technology Act, 2000
This very law is there for a very specific reason, you see, under this section, someone may face punishment if they record your video without your permission and then use it to blackmail you. Simply put, privacy is protected by this law, and people who break it will be punished.
2. Section 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000
Again, it should be pretty obvious for anyone to understand that publishing or sending obscene content is illegal according to Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act. Using these sections of the IT Act of 2000, you can sue someone who threatens to share inappropriate photos or videos of you.
3. Section 292 IPC
The IPC section 292 is specifically put into action and applied when someone tries to blackmail you by sending obscene material like private photos or videos. This is very common, and that’s why you should know that those who try to use this kind of information for extortion will be subject to severe punishments, according to this section.
4. Section 108(1)(i)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code
Additionally, Section 108(1)(i)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code lets you tell a judge if you think someone might spread inappropriate information about you. All in all, to keep the suspect from sharing the information, the judge can do things like detain them and make them sign a binding agreement. With this section’s specially laid out rules follow the proactive approach that will keep you safe from possible blackmail.
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