If any person without permission of the owner or any other person who is incharge of a computer, computer system or computer network, -

(a) accesses or secures access to such computer, computer system or computer network;

(b) downloads, copies or extracts any data, computer database or information from such computer, computer system or computer network including information or data held or stored in any removable storage medium ;

(c) introduces or causes to be introduced any computer contaminant or computer virus into any computer, computer system or computer network ;

(d) damages or causes to be damaged any computer, computer system or computer  network, data, computer database or any other programmes residing in such computer, computer system or computer network;

(e) disrupts or causes disruption of any computer, computer system or computer network;

(f) denies or causes the denial of access to any person authorised to access any computer, computer system or computer network by any means ;

(g) provides any assistance to any person to facilitate access to a computer, computer   system or computer network in contravention of the provisions of this Act, rules or regulations made thereunder;

(h) charges the services availed of by a person to the account of another person by tampering with or manipulating any computer, computer system, or computer network.

Explanation: For the purposes of this section,-

  (i) "computer contaminant" means any set    of computer instructions that are    designed -

      (a) to modify, destroy, record, transmit       data   or programme residing within a       computer,   computer system or       computer network; or

      (b) by any means to usurp the normal        operation of the computer, computer        system, or computer network;

  (ii) "computer database" means a    representation of information, knowledge,    facts, concepts or instructions in text,    image, audio, video that are being    prepared or have been prepared in a    formalised manner or have been    produced by a computer, computer    system    or computer network and are   intended for    use in a computer,   computer system or    computer network ;

  (iii) "computer virus" means any computer   instruction, information, data or   programme that destroys, damages,   degrades or adversely affects the   performance of a computer resource or   attaches itself to another computer   resource and operates when a   programme, data or instruction is   executed or some other event takes place   in that computer resource;

  (iv) "damage" means to destroy, alter,   delete, add, modify or rearrange any   computer resource by any means.

This section provides penalty for damage caused to any computer, computer network, etc., by introduction of computer virus, unauthorised access and other types of mischief. Any person who is found guilty of contravening this section is liable to pay damages by way of compensation not exceeding one crore rupees to the person affected thereby.