Online harassment is prosecutable, and the framework improved considerably with the new criminal codes and the IT Rules. The difficulty is usually evidence and follow-through, not law.
Preserve first, react second
Before you block anyone, capture everything: full-screen screenshots showing the profile URL, handle, date and time; the message thread in full rather than selected lines; call logs; and where possible screen recordings. Blocking first and complaining later destroys the record. Keep the original device.
The offences that usually apply
- Stalking, Section 78 BNS, which expressly covers monitoring a woman's use of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication, despite a clear indication of disinterest.
- Criminal intimidation, Sections 351 BNS, for threats.
- Insulting the modesty of a woman, Section 79 BNS, covering words, gestures and acts intended to insult modesty, including by electronic means.
- Section 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, for publishing or transmitting obscene or sexually explicit material.
- Section 66C and 66D IT Act, for identity theft and cheating by personation using a computer resource.
Section 66A no longer exists
Section 66A of the IT Act, which covered "grossly offensive" online messages, was struck down as unconstitutional in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015). Police occasionally still cite it, and the Supreme Court has had to repeat directions to stop that. If an FIR against you invokes Section 66A, that is a straightforward ground for quashing.
Section 66A of the IT Act, which covered "grossly offensive" online messages, was struck down as unconstitutional in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015). Police occasionally still cite it, and the Supreme Court has had to repeat directions to stop that. If an FIR against you invokes Section 66A, that is a straightforward ground for quashing.
The parallel routes
- Platform grievance officer. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 require every significant intermediary to appoint an India-based grievance officer, acknowledge a complaint within 24 hours and dispose of it within 15 days, with faster timelines for certain content.
- Grievance Appellate Committee, if the platform's response is unsatisfactory.
- cybercrime.gov.in or the local cyber cell. Registration is mandatory where a cognizable offence is disclosed.
- A civil suit for injunction and damages, where the harasser is identifiable and the harm is to reputation or business.
If the police will not act
Escalate in writing to the Superintendent of Police, then apply to the Magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS for a direction to register and investigate. Take the preserved evidence with you.