Home  /  Information Technology Act  /  Section 87

Section 87: Power of Central Government to make rules

Information Technology Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 2000
Section 86 All 90 Sections of Information Technology Act Section 88

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 87

Section 87 confers comprehensive rule-making power upon the Central Government to carry out the provisions of the Act, establishing the statutory source for crucial subordinate legislation including the Intermediary Guidelines, Reasonable Security Practices, and Digital Media Ethics Code.

  • Broad Plenary Rule-Making Authority: Empowers the Central Government to notify binding rules across all operational, cryptographic, and procedural dimensions of the Act.
  • Subordinate Legislation for Critical Cyber Areas: Specifically authorizes rules governing electronic signatures (Sec 10), Certifying Authorities (Sec 16), interception (Sec 69), website blocking (Sec 69A), and intermediary due diligence (Sec 79).
  • Mandatory Parliamentary Tabling: Mandates that every rule framed under this section must be laid before both Houses of Parliament for thirty days and is subject to parliamentary modification or annulment.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015) 5 SCC 1: Supreme Court scrutinized rules framed under Section 87, reading down procedural ambiguities and establishing that subordinate rules must strictly conform to Article 19(2) constitutional boundaries.
  • In Re: Delhi Laws Act, 1912 AIR 1951 SC 332: Seven-Judge Constitution Bench established the foundational constitutional limits of delegated legislation, prohibiting the executive from exercising essential legislative functions.
  • Cellular Operators Association of India v. TRAI (2016) 7 SCC 703: Supreme Court struck down subordinate regulations that were manifestly arbitrary and ultra vires the parent statutory enactment.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

When challenging executive cyber regulations (such as Intermediary Rules or traceability mandates), evaluate whether the notification exceeds the specific enabling clauses enumerated in Section 87(2); subordinate rules exceeding the parent statute are ultra vires and unconstitutional.

Section 86 All 90 Sections of Information Technology Act Section 88