Offences with three years imprisonment to be bailable
Section 77B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 deals with offences with three years imprisonment to be bailable. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), the offence punishable with imprisonment of three years and above shall be cognizable and the offence punishable with imprisonment of three years shall be bailable. The Act came into force on 17 Oct 2000.
1[77B. Offences with three years imprisonment to be bailable.--Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), the offence punishable with imprisonment of three years and above shall be cognizable and the offence punishable with imprisonment of three years shall be bailable.
Section 77B, The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Act 21 of 2000).
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.
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Muhammed Riyas v. State of Kerala
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
DATE VERIFIED Final Order 06.01.2012 (order-1.pdf): For first conviction under IT Act s.67 (max 3 years), s.77B makes the offence bailable notwithstanding CrPC; Magistrate erred in treating it as non-bailable/grievous — bail granted.
On this section: s.77B classifies offences punishable with imprisonment up to three years as bailable; applied to first-conviction s.67 prosecution.
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.
Questions about Section 77B
What have the courts held on Section 77B of the Information Technology Act?
Muhammed Riyas v. State of Kerala (06 Jan 2012) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.77B classifies offences punishable with imprisonment up to three years as bailable; applied to first-conviction s.67 prosecution.
How do I find court cases under Section 77B 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 77B, section 77B IT Act, section 77B of the Information Technology Act. People searching for it also type it act 77b malayalam. 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 Muhammed Riyas v. State of Kerala (06 Jan 2012).
When did Section 77B of the Information Technology Act come into force?
Section 77B of the Information Technology Act, cited as IT Act 77B, 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
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- 87. Power of Central Government to make rules877 words
- 43. Penalty and compensation for damage to computer, computer system, etc506 words
- 46. Power to adjudicate370 words
- 89. Power of Controller to make regulations345 words
- 70B. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team to serve as national agency for incident response326 words
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 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.