Amended IT Bill tabled in LS

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 15. Overriding objections from the Opposition, the Government today introduced the Information Technology Bill in the Lok Sabha incorporating all but two amendments suggested by the Parliamentary Standing Committee. The two amendments that are not part of the new Bill are seen as a response to pressure from the industry. The suggestions overlooked by the Government pertain to compulsory registration of websites and portals hosted in India and mandatory maintenance of records by cyber cafe owners. Moving the Bill for introduction, the Information Technology Minister, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, maintained that the two suggestions were being left out in ``larger public interest''.

Earlier, Opposition members objected to the introduction on the ground that it was not proper to rush through a Bill that was fraught with serious implications. However, they relented after the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B.Vajpayee, assured that adequate time would be allotted for a discussion. The inconclusive debate in which the Information & Broadcasting Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, defended all the provisions, will continue tomorrow.

Opening the discussion, Mr. Shivraj Patil of the Congress(I) cautioned against passing the Bill in a hurry. ``The country's entry into the 21st century will not be affected if we wait for two months,'' he observed.

The former Lok Sabha Speaker also referred to several provisions which were either redundant or contravened established procedures. He also felt the Bill did not cover all areas, specially the legislature, and referring to clause 57 pointed out that it was not forward looking but complicating.

Support for the Bill came from the Telugu Desam Party's Mr. M.V.S. Murthy, who pointed out that adequate time was given to scrutinise the Bill. It was introduced in Parliament six months ago before being referred to the Standing Committee. Since the Constitution had been amended 90 times, Mr. Murthy saw no harm in amending the IT Act, if required, at a later stage.

Clarifying the concerns raised by Members, Mr. Jaitley said the country was already late in adopting a law governing cyber space. Replying to Mr. K.P. Singh Deo's (Congress-I) assertion that the Bill did not account for the convergence of computers, TV and telephony, the Minister said this was a completely different issue. Responding to a major objection raised by the MPs, Mr. Jaitley asserted that the power given to police to search a premises of a suspected cyber-criminal without a warrant was justified. Moreover, the Bill provided that no officer below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police could search the premises, he added.

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