India's president suggests revision of penal code to include online gambling

Saturday 27th of February 2016

India president Pranab Mukherjee is reportedly suggesting revisions to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to include cyber crimes such as online gambling and other offences, local media reports.

“The IPC has undergone very few changes in the last 155 years. Very few crimes have been added to the initial list of crimes and declared punishable,” President Mukherjee said during an event celebrating the 155th anniversary of IPC.

“Even now, there are offences in the code which were enacted by the British to meet their colonial needs. Yet, there are many new offences which have to be properly defined and incorporated in the code,” he said.

The Indian president discussed the emerging threat from cyber crimes in his speech, calling for law enforcement agencies to respond more proactively.

"Crimes in the cyberspace like email spoofing, financial fraud, online gambling, match fixing, cyber defamation and cyber stalking call for an ingenuous and proactive response from the law providers," said President Mukherjee.

“It is a challenge to bring all new age offences with its intricacies within the ambit of the criminal law,” he added.

Crime Match-fixing Illegal Law Online gambling