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Section70
The Information Technology Act, 2000

Protected system

In force From 17 Oct 2000 Act 21 of 2000 As on 15 Oct 2026

Act 21 of 2000 Ministry Electronics and Information Technology Enacted 09 Jun 2000 In force 17 Oct 2000 Cited by 2 provisions Instruments 35

Section 70 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 deals with protected system. The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare any computer resource which directly or indirectly affects the facility of Critical Information Infrastructure, to be a protected system. The Act came into force on 17 Oct 2000.

1 [(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare any computer resource which directly or indirectly affects the facility of Critical Information Infrastructure, to be a protected system.

Explanation.--For the purposes of this section, "Critical Information Infrastructure" means the computer resource, the incapacitation or destruction of which, shall have debilitating impact on national security, economy, public health or safety.]

(2) The appropriate Government may, by order in writing, authorise the persons who are authorised to access protected systems notified under sub-section (1).

(3) Any person who secures access or attempts to secure access to a protected system in contravention of the provisions of this section shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.

2 [(4) The Central Government shall prescribe the information security practices and procedures for such protected system.]

Section 70, The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Act 21 of 2000).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

Referred to by 2

  1. s. 66F Punishment for cyber terrorism
  2. s. 87 Power of Central Government to make rules

Related judgements & precedents

These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.

  1. B.N. Firos v. State of Kerala

    Supreme Court of India 27 Mar 2018 Binding (Supreme Court) Reportable Civil Appeal No.79/2008 (SC); Judgment 27.03.2018

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    IT Act s.70 power to declare a computer resource a 'protected system' must be read with Copyright Act s.2(k)/s.17 so that declaration is confined to Government work (and, post-2009, Critical Information Infrastructure). The pre-amendment s.70(1) is not uncanalized excessive delegation when so construed. A developer who built FRIENDS software for Microsoft under TSP MoU cannot claim first ownership to defeat a State s.70 notification. Judgment text dated 27.03.2018 (order-26.pdf); index date matches body end-date (notification dates inside body are historical).

    On this section: Court upheld s.70 protected-system power as guided by Copyright Act government-work limits and dismissed copyright challenge.

    Read the full order on eCourts India

The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.

Made under this section, and citing it

30 instruments state that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.

Another 5 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.

All subordinate legislation

Questions about Section 70

What have the courts held on Section 70 of the Information Technology Act?

B.N. Firos v. State of Kerala (27 Mar 2018) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Court upheld s.70 protected-system power as guided by Copyright Act government-work limits and dismissed copyright challenge.

How do I find court cases under Section 70 of the Information Technology Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: IT Act 70, section 70 IT Act, section 70 of the Information Technology Act. People searching for it also type it act 70b and income tax act 70 6. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with B.N. Firos v. State of Kerala (27 Mar 2018).

What should I read with Section 70 of the Information Technology Act, and has it changed?

2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there are 30: most recently Declaring certain computer resources of Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest(CERSAI) and its associated dependencies as protected system (2024), then Declaring certain computer resources of Computer Age Management Services Limited and its associated dependencies as protected system (2024), and 28 more.

When did Section 70 of the Information Technology Act come into force?

Section 70 of the Information Technology Act, cited as IT Act 70, came into force on 17 Oct 2000, having been enacted on 09 Jun 2000. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.