The Hindu Business Line : Dark deals

When Rahul Choudhury ordered a pair of diamond earrings for his wife from an Internet site, little did he know that their fifth anniversary celebrations would culminate in misfortune. Not only was Choudhury's bank balance lighter by around Rs 25,000, the earrings too never arrived. The hapless man trundled from pillar to post seeking redressal but to no avail.

If you are one of those urban-educated, hi-tech consumers, looking for a great shopping experience on the Internet, then you must also be aware of the inherent pitfalls that come with this virtual convenience. The Internet may offer a range of products and services that gratify a diverse and distinct set of customers, yet more and more people are discovering its perils... the dramatic arrest of Baazee.com CEO Avnish Bajaj in connection with the sale of sexually explicit content on his site is the most recent example.

Tajendra Luthra, DCP Crime, Delhi, says there are many cases of cheating on the Internet but it is unfortunate that people do not register their complaints with the police. "We have a full-fledged Cyber Crime Cell, which has trained personnel to deal with matters relating to the Internet. We give importance to each complaint — something as serious as e-terrorism or as petty as flowers that never reached someone," he says. The Cyber Crime Cell of Delhi has officials who specialise in tracing computer hackers and Net cheats.

Luthra says that there is no laxity in the law and when caught, a person could be sentenced to three to seven years of imprisonment and made to pay a hefty fine, for an offence like duping an online shopper.

Puvan Duggal, a Supreme Court advocate who specialises in cyber law, adds, "The World Wide Web is no longer simply a medium of exchanging information. The increasing cases of duping consumers online, hacking, cyber defamation and even e-terrorism have resulted in the need for a uniform law to deal with cyber space challenges."

Duggal, who has launched a Web site called cyberlawIndia.com, cites the case of a Noida-based electronics company, which had a dedicated NRI Web site. The company sold products online to NRIs and delivered the goods to their friends and relatives in India.

Duggal reveals how the company entered into a legal issue when an Indian working in a call centre chanced upon an American woman's credit card number. He logged onto the site and purchased goods worth hundreds of dollars, which he then got delivered to himself, posing as the American woman's friend.

Duggal, who was then the company's legal advisor, sought the help of the police in finding out the IP address from which the e-mail order had come and eventually tracked down the person who was then convicted.

The case, however, is one of the very few that have been solved. Luthra admits to a certain disinclination on the part of citizens to approach the police in matters of cyber crime.

"In cases of credit card fraud, the credit card companies often intervene offering hefty compensations to the aggrieved as their own reputation is at stake," he says.

Pushpa Girimaji, a consumer affairs columnist, says, "In India, the redressal systems are few and far between. Even though consumer-to-business transactions in India are on the rise and expected to go up considerably in the next couple of years, we do not have any specific laws or regulations to protect e-shoppers. Nor has the government taken up the task of educating consumers on this vital issue."

Duggal says that UNCITRAL — United Nations Commission on International Trade Law — came up with a model law on e-commerce in 1996 and encouraged countries to adopt it. Even though India became the 12th country to put cyber laws into operation, a redressal system for duped consumers is almost non-existent. He also feels that people in India are generally reluctant to go to the police and if the matter is something trivial — like a few hundred rupees for a book — the unwillingness simply increases.

Pushpa adds that India is working on its own version of the Ombudsman System of Redressal. This, she explains, is an independent online customer grievance body. Consumers who have been cheated can write to this Web site, which recognises and acts on their complaints.

She adds that extensive surveys conducted by Consumers International, a global federation of 263 consumer groups in 119 countries, have shown that the Internet is yet to provide a reliable environment in which consumers can shop with confidence.

She says that consumer groups in the West, especially in the UK, monitor online companies and give them security symbols so that consumers know e-shops are safe. She feels that online shops in India should have similar security symbols provided by a certified body to assure online shoppers on safety. The Internet is a global market and the idea is to have fair trade practices. The Indian Consumer Protection Act helps people get redress without much delay if any deal is conducted unfairly. Consumers shopping on the Net need to be protected against fraud, misuse of credit cards and personal data provided by them. They also need to be educated about shopping online so that they are able to recognise fraudulent deals and fly-by-night companies. The government, therefore, has a responsibility in this regard.

Duggal feels that e-governance is fast gaining in prominence. "The target of my Web site is to sensitise the common man and take the law to the masses. The consumer has a right to know the precautionary measures and the steps to take if he or she has been deceived."

Redressal systems in India

The Information Technology Act of 2000 basically provides legal recognition to transactions carried out by means of electronic data interchange and other means of electronic communication. It facilitates electronic filing of documents with government agencies, and it provides penalty to those who may tamper with data on computers or the computer network. It does not, however, deal with consumer protection in e-shopping.

The Consumer Protection Act of 1986 recognises the rights of consumers and the consumer courts set up under it provide consumers redress against defective goods, deficient services and unfair trade practices. However, there is a limitation here. The Act cannot deal with cross-border disputes with traders selling on the Internet. It can redress disputes with cyber shops of Indian origin or cyber shops that have an office or an outlet in India.

Picture by K.K. Mustafah

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