17. Appointment of Controller and other officers.
(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, appoint a Controller of Certifying Authorities for the
purposes of this Act and may also by the same or subsequent notification appoint
such number of Deputy Controllers and Assistant Controllers as it deems fit.
(2) The Controller shall discharge his functions under this
Act subject to the general control and directions of the Central Government.
(3) The Deputy Controllers and Assistant Controllers shall
perform the functions assigned to them by the Controller under the general
superintendence and control of the Controller.
(4) The qualifications, experience and terms and conditions
of service of Controller, Deputy Controllers and Assistant Controllers shall be
such as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
(5) The Head Office and Branch Office of the office of the
Controller shall be at such places as the Central Government may specify, and
these may be established at such places as the Central Government may think fit.
(6) There shall be a seal of the Office of the Controller.
18. Functions of Controller.
The Controller may perform all or any of the following functions, namely:-
(a) exercising supervision over the activities of the Certifying Authorities;
(b) certifying public keys of the Certifying Authorities;
(c) laying down the standards to be maintained by the Certifying Authorities;
(d) specifying the qualifications and experience which employees of the
Certifying Authorities should possess;
(e) specifying the conditions subject to which the Certifying Authorities shall
conduct their business;
(f) specifying the contents of written, printed or visual materials and
advertisements that may be distributed or used in respect of a Digital Signature
Certificate and the public key;
(g) specifying the form and content of a Digital Signature Certificate and the
key,
(h) specifying the form and manner in which accounts shall be maintained by the
Certifying Authorities;
(i) specifying the terms and conditions subject to which auditors may be
appointed and the remuneration to be paid to them;
(j) facilitating the establishment of any electronic system by a Certifying
Authority either solely or jointly with other Certifying Authorities and
regulation of such systems;
(k) specifying the manner in which the Certifying Authorities shall conduct
their dealings with the subscribers;
(l) resolving any conflict of interests between the Certifying Authorities and
the subscribers;
(m) laying down the duties of the Certifying Authorities;
(n) maintaining a data base containing the disclosure record of every Certifying
Authority containing such particulars as may be specified by regulations, which
shall be accessible to public.
19. Recognition of foreign Certifying Authorities.
(1) Subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be
specified by regulations, the Controller may with the previous approval of the
Central Government, and by notification in the Official Gazette, recognise any
foreign Certifying Authority as a Certifying Authority for the purposes of this
Act.
(2) Where any Certifying Authority is recognised under
sub-section (1), the Digital Signature Certificate issued by such Certifying
Authority shall be valid for the purposes of this Act.
(3) The Controller may, if he is satisfied that any
Certifying Authority has contravened any of the conditions and restrictions
subject to which it was granted recognition under sub-section (1) he may, for
reasons to be recorded in writing, by notification in the Official Gazette,
revoke such recognition.
20. Controller to act as repository.
(1) The Controller shall be the repository of all Digital Signature
Certificates issued under this Act.
(2) The Controller shall-
- (a) make use of hardware, software and procedures that are secure from
intrusion and misuse; - (b) observe such other standards as may be prescribed by the Central
Government, to ensure that the secrecy and security of the digital
signatures are assured.
(3) The Controller shall maintain a computerised data base of
all public keys in such a manner that such data base and the public keys are
available to any member of the public.
21. Licence to issue Digital Signature Certificates.
(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), any person may make an
application, to the Controller, for a licence to issue Digital Signature
Certificates.
(2) No licence shall be issued under sub-section (1), unless the applicant
fulfills such requirements with respect to qualification, expertise, manpower,
financial resources and other infrastructure facilities, which are necessary to
issue Digital Signature Certificates as may be prescribed by the Central
Government
(3) A licence granted under this section shall—
- (a) be valid for such period as may be prescribed by the Central
Government;
(b) not be transferable or heritable;
(c) be subject to such terms and conditions as may be specified by the
regulations.
22. Application for licence.
(1) Every application for issue of a licence shall be in such form as may be
prescribed by the Central Government.
(2) Every application for issue of a licence shall be accompanied by-
(a) a certification practice statement;
(b) a statement including the procedures with respect to identification of
the applicant;
(c) payment of such fees, not exceeding twenty-five thousand rupees as may
be prescribed by the Central Government;
(d) such other documents, as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
23. Renewal of licence.
An application for renewal of a licence shall be-
(a) in such form;
(b) accompanied by such fees, not exceeding five thousand rupees,
as may be prescribed by the Central Government and shall be made not less
than forty-five days before the date of expiry of the period of validity of the
licence.
24. Procedure for grant or rejection of licence.
The Controller may, on receipt of an application under sub-section (1) of
section 21, after considering the documents accompanying the application and
such other factors, as he deems fit, grant the licence or reject the
application:
Provided that no application shall be rejected under this section unless the
applicant has been given a reasonable opportunity of presenting his case.
25. Suspension of licence.
(1) The Controller may, if he is satisfied after making such inquiry, as he may
think fit, that a Certifying Authority has,-
(a) made a statement in, or in relation to, the application for the issue
or renewal of the licence, which is incorrect or false in material
particulars;
(b) failed to comply with the terms and conditions subject to which the
licence was granted;
(c) failed to maintain the standards specified under clause (b) of
sub-section (2) of section 20;
(d) contravened any provisions of this Act, rule, regulation or order
made thereunder, revoke the licence:
Provided that no licence shall be revoked unless the Certifying Authority has
been given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the proposed
revocation.
(2) The Controller may, if he has reasonable cause to believe
that there is any ground for revoking a licence under sub-section (1), by order
suspend such licence pending the completion of any inquiry ordered by him:
Provided that no licence shall be suspended for a period
exceeding ten days unless the Certifying Authority has been given a reasonable
opportunity of showing cause against the proposed suspension.
(3) No Certifying Authority whose licence has been suspended shall issue any
Digital Signature Certificate during such suspension.
26. Notice of suspension or revocation of licence.
(1) Where the licence of the Certifying Authority is
suspended or revoked, the Controller shall publish notice of such suspension or
revocation, as the case may be, in the database maintained by him.
(2) Where one or more repositories are specified, the Controller shall
publish notices of such suspension or revocation, as the case may be, in all
such repositories:
Provided that the data base containing the notice of such suspension or
revocation, as the case may be, shall be made available through a web site which
shall be accessible round the clock:
Provided further that the Controller may, if he considers necessary,
publicise the contents of database in such electronic or other media, as he may
consider appropriate.
27. Power to delegate.
The Controller may, in writing, authorise the Deputy Controller, Assistant
Controller or any officer to exercise any of the powers of the Controller under
this Chapter.
28. Power to investigate contraventions.
(1) The Controller or any officer authorised by him in this
behalf shall take up for investigation any contravention of the provisions of
this Act, rules or regulations made thereunder.
(2) The Controller or any officer authorised by him in this
behalf shall exercise the like powers which are conferred on Income-tax
authorities under Chapter XIII of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and shall exercise
such powers, subject to such limitations laid down under that Act.
29. Access to computers and data.
(1)Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1) of
section 69, the Controller or any person authorised by him shall, if he has
reasonable cause to suspect that any contravention of the provisions of this
Act, rules or regulations made thereunder has been committed, have access to any
computer system, any apparatus, data or any other material connected with such
system, for the purpose of searching or causing a search to be made for
obtaining any information or data contained in or available to such computer
system.
(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), the Controller or
any person authorised by him may, by order, direct any person incharge of, or
otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer system, data apparatus
or material, to provide him with such reasonable technical and other assistance
as he may consider necessary.
30. Certifying Authority to follow certain procedures.
Every Certifying Authority shall,-
(a) make use of hardware, software and procedures that are secure from
intrusion and misuse;
(b) provide a reasonable level of reliability in its services which are
reasonably suited to the performance of intended functions;
(c) adhere to security procedures to ensure that the secrecy and privacy of
the digital signatures are assured; and
(d) observe such other standards as may be specified by regulations.
31. Certifying Authority to ensure compliance of the Act,
etc.
Every Certifying Authority shall ensure that every person
employed or otherwise engaged by it complies, in the course of his employment or
engagement, with the provisions of this Act, rules, regulations and orders made
thereunder.
32. Display of licence.
Every Certifying Authority shall display its licence at a conspicuous place
of the premises in which it carries on its business.
33. Surrender of licence.
(1) Every Certifying Authority whose licence is suspended or revoked shall
immediately after such suspension or revocation, surrender the licence to the
Controller.
(2) Where any Certifying Authority fails to surrender a
licence under sub-section (1), the person in whose favour a licence is issued,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be punished with imprisonment which may
extend up to six months or a fine which may extend up to ten thousand rupees or
with both.
34. Disclosure.
(1) Every Certifying Authority shall disclose in the manner specified by
regulations-
(a) its Digital Signature Certificate which contains the public key
corresponding to the private key used by that Certifying Authority to
digitally sign another Digital Signature Certificate;
(b) any certification practice statement relevant thereto;
(c) notice of the revocation or suspension of its
Certifying Authority certificate, if any; and
(d) any other fact that materially and adversely affects
either the reliability of a Digital Signature Certificate, which that
Authority has issued, or the Authority's ability to perform its services.
(2) Where in the opinion of the Certifying
Authority any event has occurred or any situation has arisen which may
materially and adversely affect the integrity of its computer system or the
conditions subject to which a Digital Signature Certificate was granted,
then, the Certifying Authority shall-
(a) use reasonable efforts to notify any person who is
likely to be affected by that occurrence; or
(b) act in accordance with the procedure specified in its
certification practice statement to deal with such event or situation.