Section 43 of the Information Technology Act – Pre-requisites to Enforce Liability

Section 43 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, right at the outset provides for pre-requisites to enforce the liability under the section. The two requirements for invocation of this section are as follows:
(i) The acts committed under this section must have been committed without the permission of the owner or any person who is in charge of Computer, Computer System, Computer Network;
(ii) There must be some kind of damage caused to the person affected by such acts;

Section 43 of the act provides for certain set of acts, if committed by any person without the permission of the owner or person in charge of a Computer, Computer System or Computer Network, commits any of the acts provided under the sub-sections (a) to (j) of Section 43 of the Act, the person is liable to pay damages by way of compensation to the person affected. It provides for remedy in the form of compensation to the victim. But that is not the only remedy under the Act of 2000 for the victim.

The reference can also be made to Section 47 of the Information Technology Act which provides for factors to be taken into account by the Adjudicating Authority while adjudicating the quantum of compensation under Section 43 of the Act. Section 47 provides for three different factors which are as follows:
(a) The amount of gain or unfair advantage, wherever quantifiable, made as a result of the default;
(b) The amount of loss caused to any person as a result of default;
(c) Repetitive nature of the default.

Section 43 of the Act requires that the act of default must have been committed without the permission of the person who is owner or a person in charge of the Computer, Computer System or Computer Network. Secondly the act of the defendant must have caused some damage or loss to the person so affected. Amit Kumar Jadaun v. State of U.P., 2018 (130) ALR 877.