⚖️ The iBomma Prosecution: India’s New Blueprint for Crushing Transnational Cybercrime
By M.Murali Mohan Advocate Sreenilayam Atmakur Nandyal District AP
The arrest of Emmadi Ravi, alleged mastermind behind the iBomma piracy syndicate, marks a turning point in India’s cyberlaw and intellectual property enforcement landscape. For the first time, a high-impact digital piracy case is being prosecuted under India’s new criminal codes — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA).
Once Ravi was arrested through a Lookout Circular (LOC) at Hyderabad airport and investigators recovered hard disks containing 21,000 pirated films, the case transitioned into a textbook demonstration of how the new codes strengthen India’s ability to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction, handle digital evidence, and pursue financial crime across borders.
1. FIR & Remand Report: The Foundation of a Cross-Border Cybercrime Case
The prosecution began with a detailed complaint from film industry stakeholders, now governed by the procedural framework of the BNSS.
Document
Key Revelation (Based on Court Filings)
Legal Significance
FIR (BNSS Sec. 173)
Identifies Ravi as the primary operator and records massive piracy losses.
Establishes territorial jurisdiction through the location of harm.
Remand Report
Seizure of 21,000 pirated films; freezing of ~₹3 crore; recovery of devices, editing tools, and evidence of monetization.
Supplies prima facie evidence and triggers the separate PMLA financial probe.
Together, these documents form the prosecution’s backbone:
digital evidence + financial trails + organized criminal conduct.
2. The Multi-Statute Framework: India’s Layered Attack on Organized Cyber Piracy
The iBomma prosecution blends the new BNS/BNSS with powerful special statutes.
Law/Act
Section
Focus
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)
Sec. 61 – Criminal Conspiracy
Establishes coordinated operation of a piracy syndicate.
BNS
Sec. 318 – Cheating
Proves wrongful loss to producers and wrongful gain to operators.
BNS
Sec. 111 – Organized Crime
Newly introduced provision addressing syndicate-driven cybercrime.
IT Act, 2000
Sec. 66, Sec. 75
Punishes unauthorized access; grants extraterritorial jurisdiction.
PMLA, 2002
Sec. 3
Targets laundering of ₹12–₹20 crore in piracy proceeds.
Cinematograph Act (Amended)
Anti-piracy offences
Criminalizes unauthorized recording/transmission with 3 yrs + ₹10 lakh penalty.
Copyright Act
Sec. 63
Addresses commercial exploitation of copyrighted works.
This combined legal architecture creates a complete chain of liability:
illegal access → reproduction → transmission → monetization → laundering → organized crime.
3. Probable Defense: Where They Will Try to Create Doubt
Defense Strategy
Applicable Law/Principle
Why the Defense Fails Under New Codes
Challenge to Digital Evidence
BSA + BNSS Sec. 105
BNSS now mandates audio-video recording of searches, and BSA’s strict electronic evidence rules make digital logs more reliable than before.
Attack on PMLA Predicate Offence
PMLA Sec. 24
Burden shifts to Ravi to prove money is not illicit — a near-impossible task without clean financial records.
“Aggregator, Not Uploader” Argument
Copyright Act Sec. 14
Legally irrelevant — unauthorized communication to the public is itself an offence.
Territorial Objection
IT Act Sec. 75
Neutralized by Objective Territoriality: harm occurred in India.
Under the new legal regime, these defenses are structurally weak.
4. The Game-Changer: Why Extradition and Offshore Servers Lose All Value After Arrest
One of the most misunderstood points in online discussions is this:
Once an accused is arrested in India and incriminating evidence is seized locally, extradition and foreign server locations become legally irrelevant.
4.1 Extradition Becomes Moot After Domestic Arrest
Extradition applies only when the accused is abroad.
Ravi was arrested in Hyderabad via a Lookout Circular (LOC).
Indian courts acquired complete personal jurisdiction immediately.
His alleged foreign citizenship or residence has zero legal impact.
This is settled criminal law doctrine.
4.2 Dual Enforcement: Police vs. Enforcement Directorate (ED)
Two systems operate independently:
✔ Police – BNSS (Equivalent to Old CrPC Sec. 102)
Freeze ~₹3 crore as part of the predicate offence investigation.
✔ Enforcement Directorate – PMLA
Registers ECIR.
Issues Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) for the larger ₹12–₹20 crore.
Proceeds to confirm attachment before the Adjudicating Authority.
Key point: ED’s powers are independent, wider, and aimed at permanent confiscation.
4.3 Offshore Servers Carry No Jurisdictional Weight
Under IT Act Sec. 75, India can prosecute cyber offences even when:
the server is abroad,
the website is hosted overseas, or
the operator uses foreign routing.
Jurisdiction depends on the place of harm, not the place of hosting.
Since iBomma’s financial and commercial injury occurred in India, foreign servers provide no defense.
5. International Law: India’s Assertion of Cyber Sovereignty
The case is an excellent illustration of international criminal law principles:
• Objective Territoriality
Jurisdiction arises because the harm — economic loss to Indian producers — occurred in India.
• Nationality Principle (BNS Sec. 4)
Indian citizens can be tried for offences committed abroad.
• Continuing Offence Doctrine
Digital streaming into India is a continuous offence, refreshed each time a viewer accesses the website.
6. Final Analysis: A Landmark Case in India’s Cyber Enforcement Architecture
The iBomma prosecution is much more than an anti-piracy case.
It is the first real-world stress test for the BNS-BNSS-BSA trifecta in a transnational digital crime scenario.
If the State successfully:
links the seized devices to offshore operations,
tracks the full money trail into Indian accounts, and
proves organized criminal activity under BNS Sec. 111,
then this case will become India’s most important precedent on cyber piracy, digital forensics, extraterritoriality, and money laundering.
It will demonstrate that:
Modern cybercrime cannot hide behind foreign servers, foreign passports, VPN masking, or offshore monetization.
India is now fully equipped — legally and technologically — to assert cyber sovereignty in the global digital ecosystem.
