Think twice before you send that mail

All those who flirt on e-mail, send confidential company information, or send hate mail about their bosses from anonymous IDs: here is what to do.

Stop right there. The humble e-mail is bouncing back.

In the seven years after the country passed its information technology law that made e-mails legal documents, there has been almost no awareness and compliance - and few seemed to care. But that is all changing, with e-mails at the heart of a series of new Indian lawsuits.

E-mails are increasingly becoming a foundation of litigation in India. Many cases have been brought to court. No judgement yet reported.

But Indian laws require a complex set of requirements to prove that e-mails have not been tampered with.

• E-mails are considered legal documents in India since 2000, when the Information Technology Act came into force.
• E-mails are legal if they are made available in electronic form, and accessible in a way that they can be used for future reference.
• They must be retained in the format in which they were originally generated, sent or received. Electronically available details showing the identification of the origin, destination, date and time of dispatch or receipt are a must.
• Offenders can be imprisoned for a maximum of 10 years and may have to pay a penalty of up to Rs 1 crore.

E-mail archiving is now shaping up into big business.
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