Section 66E of the IT Act 2000: Violation of Privacy

Abstract

This paper examines Section 66E of the Information Technology Act, 2000 as a safeguard against violations of bodily privacy in the digital age. It outlines the provision’s evolution, its constitutional grounding in the right to privacy under Article 21, and analyzes key elements like consent, mens rea, and reasonable expectation of privacy. The paper also highlights enforcement challenges such as anonymity, jurisdictional issues, and deepfakes and concludes that Section 66E remains crucial for protecting dignity and privacy amid evolving technologies.