Cyber Police Stations in Uttar Pradesh

• 01 May 2024

Why in News?

The Uttar Pradesh government is to establish cyber police stations in 57 districts after the parliamentary polls with each cyber police station having 25 posts for officers and employees.

Key Points

• The state government, in response to the rising incidents of cybercrime nationally and globally, has decided to establish cyber police stations across all 75 districts of the state.
  • While cyber stations are already operational in 18 divisions, the remaining 57 districts will also get such stations following the Lok Sabha elections.
• The finalisation of these stations will occur following the lifting of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and the conclusion of the general elections.

Model Code of Conduct (MCC)

• The MCC is a consensus document. The political parties have themselves agreed to keep their conduct during elections in check and to work within the Code.
• It helps the Election Commission (EC) in keeping with the mandate it has been given under Article 324 of the Constitution, which gives it the power to supervise and conduct free and fair elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures.
• The MCC is operational from the date on which the election schedule is announced until the date of the result announcement.
• The government cannot announce any financial grants, promise construction of roads or other facilities, and make any ad hoc appointments in government or public undertaking during the time the Code is in force.
• Enforceability of MCC:
  • Though the MCC does not have any statutory backing, it has come to acquire strength in the past decade because of its strict enforcement by the EC.
  • Certain provisions of the MCC may be enforced by invoking corresponding provisions in other statutes such as the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1973, and Representation of Peoples’s Act (RPA) 1951.

Cybercrime

• It is defined as a crime where a computer is the object of the crime or is used as a tool to commit an offense.
  • Cybercrimes fall under State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India.
• It involves illegal or unauthorized activities that exploit technology to commit various forms of crimes.
• Cybercrime covers a wide range of offenses and can affect individuals, organizations, and even governments.