The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has asked the Supreme Court to authorise it to investigate and prosecute rape videos being shared on the Internet and online messaging platforms, reports DailyMail. The CBI reply comes after a PIL was filed that demanded an agency to have pan-Indian jurisdiction to probe online sexual assault cases. The CBI mentions that, it is “imperative to have a central institutional mechanism to address cases related to sexual violence against women and children circulated through the Internet”, and that the agency is willing to take on this responsibility. The court will make a decision on the affidavit next Monday. Essentially, the PIL and CBI are asking for national jurisdiction to deal with online sexual crimes, which makes sense. Currently, as per the PIL, if a rape video is shot in say Bihar, and shared with users in Maharashtra, the Maharashtra police is unable to take action on it even if a complaint is lodged, as local police do not have jurisdiction in other states. This is true not only for sexual assault cases, but also cases of cyberbullying and other online crimes. However, the CBI can investigate cases across the country, on the order of the Supreme Court or a High Court (pdf). Slow in dealing with online crime: The Government of India had said last year that it would setup a ‘Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre’ (I-4C), for monitoring and capacity building against cyber crimes, as well as help law enforcement agencies in curbing…
