Cyberstalking and the Enforcement Gap: Analyzing Legal Remedies and Procedural Hurdles in India

ABSTRACT
The research paper critically evaluates the new criminal justice system which provides the framework to address the crime of Cyberstalking. The study analyses the shift of Section 354 of IPC to Section 78 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the changes made under Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023. While the law appears to be robust but in actual practice it’s a ‘paper tiger’ and fails to ensure the proper justice due to ‘Procedural Gaps’- like ‘Attribution’, Forensic backlogs, Evidentiary hurdles. Through the Doctrinal and comparative analysis, it is highlighted that the current law leads to the ‘Secondary Victimization’ by the way of seizure of personal devices in the process leading to ‘Constitutional Failure’. While the failure in enforcement is the primary focus of the research paper, it cannot be studied in isolation without analysing the chain of gaps like gender -bias rules and provisions, technological lag of anonymity in AI-driven harassment, which ultimately results in the failure of the law. The paper concludes with the argument of transition from ‘Paperwork to Practicality’ through the possible modifications in the process like ‘Digital Mirroring’ policy and the cyber forensic labs etc. to ensure that the law can match the pace of digital crime.