Published On: August 23rd 2025
By: Anannya Karanwal
Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, GGSIPU
INTRODUCTION
The internet, once hailed as the greatest equaliser, now sometimes serves as a platform for cruelty. With a click or a comment, a person’s mental well-being can be shattered. This is the ugly truth behind cyberbullying a phenomenon that’s become disturbingly common in India’s digital age.
Unlike schoolyard bullying, which fades once the final bell rings, cyberbullying follows your home. It hides in notifications, anonymous accounts, and WhatsApp groups. A joke at someone’s expense becomes viral. A comment made in anger snowballs into harassment. The worst part? The aggressor is often faceless, hidden behind a screen.
In India, as more people get online, the problem only grows. Yet many people still think of cyberbullying as just ‘mean behavior’ online. The law, too, hasn’t quite caught up. Victims are often unsure whether what they’re experiencing is even illegal. And if it is, where should they go? What should they file? Who will take it seriously?
WHAT IS CYBERBULLYING?
When someone uses technology, like your phone, laptop, or any other online platform to bully or harass you. It simply doesn’t always look like direct threats or name calling as it can be sometimes. It might be like Spreading rumors through WhatsApp groups or Instagram, making a fake account in your name, leaking personal pictures, sending unnerving messages at odd hours or commenting nonstop to bring you down.
Did you get the idea? Unlike real life fights, this kind doesn’t end when you walk away. It can possibly keep happening while you either sleep or study, and even long after you delete the apps.
HOW BAD IT IS IMPACTING ON INDIA?
It’s worse than people think. India has over 850 million internet users, and a huge chunk of them are young. That’s a LOT of people online chatting, posting, reacting. Not all of them are kind.
Teenagers, women, influencers, kid, nobody’s safe. One survey showed that nearly half of Indian teens have faced some kind of cyberbullying. But only a tiny number actually report it. Why? Well, take your pick:
Fear of parents or teachers blaming them
Not knowing how to report it
Thinking “this is normal, it happens to everyone”
Many victims may not even be aware that they are experiencing bullying, which underscores the extent to which online cruelty has become normalized in contemporary society.
THE LAWS
There are many cases and people online who are indeed suffering from cyberbullying, and yet we do not have any specific Indian law that says, “Cyberbullying is illegal.”
We examine old laws and try to make them relevant.
A. IT ACT, 2000
This is our main cyber law. While it is somewhat dated, certain sections continue to hold relevance and applicability in today’s context.
Section 66C – for stealing someone’s identity (like if someone pretends to be you online).
Section 66D – covers online cheating through impersonation.
Section 67 and 67A – deal with sharing obscene or explicit material online (think revenge porn cases).
In recent legal developments, Section 66A, which addressed the issue of sending “offensive messages,” was invalidated by the Supreme Court in the landmark case of Shreya Singhal v. Union of India . The Court found this section to be overly vague, leading to potential infringements on free speech rights. As a result, there is currently no specific legal provision addressing abusive messages or online threats. This absence of a dedicated legal framework raises significant concerns regarding the protection of individuals in the digital space.
WHEN MINORS ARE INVOLVED: THE LEGAL GREY ZONE
Things become increasingly complex when the person perpetrating the bullying is also a child. It raises difficult questions about their behavior, motives, and the environment that may have shaped them. This intertwining of roles blurs the lines of innocence and aggression, leaving us to ponder the deeper issues at play.
Let’s say a 15-year-old shares inappropriate images of a classmate or sends threatening texts anonymously. It’s easy to say, “File a case.” But under Indian law, things aren’t so elementary.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act 2005) is clear that children in conflict with the law (i.e., minors who commit offence) must be dealt with differently than adults. For heinous offences, kids above 16 can be tried as adults, but cyber bullying doesn’t always qualify as “heinous” under the statute.
Now, in this middle of the place where the law is not sure whether to discipline or forgive. Schools mostly don’t want to involve the police. Parents panic. Victims are told to just ignore it and the bullying often continue.
The infamous Bois Locker Room incident (2020) is a prime example. Teenage boys from Delhi schools created an Instagram group to share morphed photos of girls, often sexualizing and threatening them. The public was outraged, and for good reason. But legally? The handling was complicated because most of the accused were minors. Though the Delhi Commission for Women stepped in, and there was police involvement, no harsh punishment was ultimately imposed.
And so, even after national attention, the legal takeaway was obscure.
THE COURTS ARE TRYING — BUT THAT’S NOT ENOUGH
While there’s no specific statute criminalizing cyberbullying, Indian courts have had to step in, case by case.
In Manik Taneja v. State of Karnataka , the Supreme Court held that criticizing the police on Facebook doesn’t amount to criminal intimidation. The judgment emphasized the value of free expression — but it also showed how thin the line is between critique and harassment online.
In other cases, like State v. Mohd. Afzal , courts have interpreted existing laws creatively to punish cyber-offenders. But there’s only so far patchwork can go. What we need is a law that directly calls this behaviour out for what it is.
As for now, whether someone gets punished or not depends less on the law and more on the mood of the police officer you meet.
HOW DO EXISTING LAWS FALL SHORT?
Our legal system wasn’t built for the digital era. Here’s why the current approach fails:
No definition = no consistency. Cyberbullying isn’t clearly defined under any Indian statute, so its recognition depends on interpretation. Two similar cases could have entirely different outcomes.
Delayed action. Filing FIRs for cyber offenses is a nightmare. Police stations often tell victims to go to the “cyber cell,” which may not even exist in smaller towns.
Lack of digital training. Many law enforcement officials still ask victims to print screenshots and don’t know how disappearing messages work.
Social stigma. Especially in cases involving leaked photos or harassment of women, victims often stay silent out of fear of judgment — not just from society, but also from the legal system.
Platforms don’t help fast enough. Instagram, WhatsApp, and X (formerly Twitter) have reporting tools, but content takedown is slow. By the time something gets removed, the damage is usually done.
WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING
Cyberbullying remains a persistent issue that shows no signs of abating. In fact, with the emergence of AI-generated deepfakes and the proliferation of anonymous browsing, the situation is likely to deteriorate further. Thus, it is imperative to explore viable strategies for addressing this growing concern and developing an effective way forward.
1. We need a specific cyberbullying law
India needs a dedicated statute that:
Defines cyberbullying clearly.
Differentiates between adult and juvenile offenders.
Makes takedown of harmful content mandatory within 24 hours.
Ensures immediate, victim centred redressal mechanisms.
This law must support free speech, but it should also differentiate between criticism and cruelty.
2. Train the police — properly
Cybercrime units in major cities like Delhi and Mumbai are a start, but they aren’t enough. Every local station should have at least one officer trained in cyber-offense reporting and response. And they should know how online platforms work.
Digital evidence disappears fast. The system has to move faster.
3. School-led intervention
Most cyberbullying cases among teens start within schools. Every school should:
Run regular digital citizenship workshops.
Establish anonymous reporting systems.
Include online harassment within its anti-ragging policies.
Educate parents, not just students.
Ignoring bullying because “kids will be kids” is how lifelong trauma starts.
4. Platform accountability
The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 tried to push big tech to act faster. But the follow-through has been half-hearted. India must enforce stricter compliance timelines for content takedown, and platforms should be held liable if they fail to respond to flagged abuse in time.
5. Victim support systems
Legal remedies are important — but so is healing. Victims should have access to:
Free counselling
Legal aid
Confidential reporting helplines
We often talk about laws and FIRs, but rarely about the emotional cost. That has to change.
CONCLUSION
Cyberbullying is far more than a mere inconvenience in the online world; it is a profound crisis that devastates mental health, drives victims into isolation, and, in the most harrowing instances, can culminate in suicide. In India, where the digital landscape is as vast as it is vibrant, we have yet to respond to this issue with the urgency it demands.
Our existing laws, relics of a bygone era, are woefully inadequate to tackle the complexities of modern technology. The mechanisms for addressing complaints are sluggish, mired in red tape, while awareness of the issue lags far behind the alarming statistics. It is high time we abandon makeshift solutions and embrace a more robust approach. We need clear, comprehensive laws that resonate with the realities of today, rapid response systems that act swiftly to protect victims, and police trained not only in the law but also in empathy—understanding the emotional toll that cyberbullying inflicts.
Because our right to safety should not fluctuate with fortune; it should be an unyielding guarantee, even within the boundless expanse of the internet.
