The official PDFs and the guide for each
A guide to a law is only as good as its source, and the source is the text that the Government publishes. The table lists six documents. The first link opens the file on the website of the Ministry that publishes it, in a new tab. For four of them the Gazette copy is also kept on this site, and the last column leads to the guide that explains the document.
The copies kept here are the Gazette copies as the Ministry published them, with nothing added or removed. They come from the Ministry of Home Affairs (the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (the data protection Act and Rules). They are published here together with the guide on this page and the guide linked in the last column, which comment on each text. The consolidated IT Rules and the Ministry’s note on the Jan Vishwas changes are compilations that the Ministry publishes on its website, and they are linked at the publisher only.
| Document | Published by | What it is | Pages and size | At the publisher | Copy kept here | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023) | Ministry of Home Affairs | The Gazette of India copy of the Sanhita that replaced the Indian Penal Code, in English. | 102 pages, 1.3 MB | Open the PDF | Download the copy | IPC to BNS |
| Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Act No. 47 of 2023) | Ministry of Home Affairs | The Gazette copy of the Adhiniyam that replaced the Indian Evidence Act, with the Schedule that holds the certificate for electronic records. | 47 pages, 0.7 MB | Open the PDF | Download the copy | Section 63 BSA |
| Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (Act No. 22 of 2023) | Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology | The official text of the data protection Act, in English. | 21 pages, 0.2 MB | Open the PDF | Download the copy | DPDP Act 2023 |
| Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 (G.S.R. 846(E)) | Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology | The Gazette notification dated 13 November 2025, in Hindi and English, with the Schedules. | 41 pages, 2.5 MB | Open the PDF | Download the copy | DPDP Rules 2025 |
| Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 | Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology | The consolidated text updated on 10 February 2026, with a footnote for every amendment. | 33 pages, 0.4 MB | Open the PDF | Open at the publisher | IT Rules 2021 |
| Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023: the changes to the IT Act | Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology | A note with the Schedule and the amended text of the sections of the Information Technology Act that the Jan Vishwas Act changed. | 20 pages, 2.3 MB | Open the PDF | Open at the publisher | IT Act 2000 |
The Information Technology Act, 2000
The Information Technology Act, 2000, Act No. 21 of 2000, is published as an amended text on India Code, the official repository of Central and State Acts. Because the Act has been changed several times, a copy of it has to be read with the amendments. Act 10 of 2009, the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, added sections 66A to 66F, 67A to 67C and Chapter XIIA, the Finance Act, 2017 replaced the Cyber Appellate Tribunal with the Appellate Tribunal, and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, in force for this Act from 30 November 2023, changed sections 33, 44, 45, 46, 67C, 68, 69B, 70B, 72 and 72A and omitted section 66A. The last row of the table is the Ministry’s own note on that last set of changes, with the amended text.
How to read an official text
Three details of an official PDF decide whether it is safe to rely on. The first is the date line. A consolidated text such as the IT Rules says on its first page up to what date it is updated, and a Gazette copy of an Act gives the date of publication. The second is the footnotes. In the IT Rules every amendment has a footnote with the number and date of the notification that made it, which is how a reader can see which amendment brought in a three-hour takedown period. The third is the language. The DPDP Rules are published in Hindi and in English in the same file, and the English text follows the Hindi text.
The numbers of the sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that replaced the Indian Penal Code are set out on the page on IPC to BNS, and the certificate form in the Schedule of the Adhiniyam is on the page on the section 63 BSA certificate. For a dated list of what has changed, see the page on cyber law updates.
Where the other official documents are published
The Gazette of India, in which every Act, rule and notification first appears, is published electronically at egazette.gov.in, and the Acts of Parliament in their amended form are collected on India Code. The replies that Ministries give in Parliament, such as those of the Ministry of Home Affairs on cyber fraud and digital arrest scams that the guides on this site cite, are on the websites of the Ministry and of Parliament. The circulars and directions of the Reserve Bank of India are on its own website. When a guide on this site relies on a document, it names the body that issued it and the date, so that the document can be found and read in full.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I download the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita PDF?
The Ministry of Home Affairs publishes the Gazette copy of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Act No. 45 of 2023, as a PDF. The table links to it at the Ministry, and a copy is kept on this site. It is the Act as published on 25 December 2023, and the Press Information Bureau records that the Sanhita, except sub-section (2) of section 106, has been in force from 1 July 2024.
Where is the official PDF of the IT Act 2000?
The Information Technology Act, 2000 is published on India Code, the official repository of Central and State Acts at indiacode.nic.in, and by the Legislative Department. The Act has been amended several times, so a copy needs to be checked against the changes made by Act 10 of 2009, the Finance Act, 2017 and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, which the table lists.
Is the DPDP Act 2023 PDF on this page the latest text?
It is the official text of Act No. 22 of 2023 as published by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The Rules made under it are a separate document, the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, which the table also lists.
Why do the IT Rules PDF and this site mention an update date?
The Ministry publishes the Rules as a consolidated text with the date up to which it is updated and a footnote for every amendment. The PDF in the table is updated on 10 February 2026. A reader who needs the position on a later date should check for later Gazette notifications.