Section 78Stalking

Chapter V — Of Offences Against Woman and Child

Copied from the Official Gazette. Not yet reviewed by a qualified legal professional.

Text of the law

Official text (Gazette) Not yet legally reviewed

(1) Any man who—
1. (i) follows a woman and contacts, or attempts to contact such woman to foster personal interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest by such woman; or
2. (ii) monitors the use by a woman of the internet, e-mail or any other form of electronic communication,
3. commits the offence of stalking:
4. Provided that such conduct shall not amount to stalking if the man who pursued it proves that—
  1. (i) it was pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime and the man accused of stalking had been entrusted with the responsibility of prevention and detection of crime by the State; or
  2. (ii) it was pursued under any law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by any person under any law; or
  3. (iii) in the particular circumstances such conduct was reasonable and justified.
(2) Whoever commits the offence of stalking shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine; and be punished on a second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Amendments, judgments and appeal information have not been added for this section yet.

Where this text comes from: Gazette of India, Extraordinary, No. 53, 25 December 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023)
Type of text: Official text (Gazette)
Pages in the Gazette: p. 28
Text version: As originally enacted in 2023. This text may not reflect subsequent amendments or commencement notifications. Last status check: 6 November 2026.
When the Act came into force: 1 July 2024, under Government notification S.O. 850(E), dated 23 February 2024. Read notification S.O. 850(E) in the Gazette of India (PDF, opens in a new tab)The notification excluded section 106(2); see the note on that section.Whether an excluded provision was brought into force later has not been independently confirmed. Checked against the Gazette on 6 November 2026. Not yet reviewed by a qualified legal professional.
Checked by computer against the Gazette?: Yes, words and structure match
Reviewed by a qualified legal professional?: Not yet
Copied on: 6 Nov 2026

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