An Analysis of Laws Relating to Online Sexual Abuse in India

The internet has made massive inroads in our lives, personally as well as professionally. Therefore, it is only natural that crimes on the internet too will increase.  This paper specifically focuses on sexual crimes on the internet and the legal and judicial treatment such crime receives. The paper will discuss the various kinds of sexual crimes that can happen online and will also discuss crimes that have yet to receive adequate judicial or legal attention. The paper will try to deduce what can be termed as ‘sexually abusive’ on the internet and the interface between the two since sexual conduct is inherently physical and the internet dispenses with physicality. The paper will also dwell on the limitations or difficulties in actually deducing a cybercrime since in many cases the distinction between the online and the offline world may get blurred. The paper will discuss the phenomenon of cyberrape has been contemplated in other jurisdictions notably Israel. The paper will further discuss the development of the law to this end in various jurisdictions including India and will also deal with the judicial treatment that has been meted out to various cybercrimes of a sexual nature in India. The paper will also discuss the current state of Indian laws about online sexual abuse, with specific reference to the various amendments in laws that have been affected concerning online sexual offences and also analyse the efficacy of such amendments. Thereafter the paper will discuss various case laws in India about sexual offences that have occurred online and the approach taken by the courts. Finally, the paper will end with an analysis of what are the changes that are needed in the law and how such changes may be brought about to ensure a meaningful development of the law.