The Act prescribes that no person should be appointed as an "Adjudicating Officer" unless he possesses such experience in Information Technology and legal or judicial experience as may be prescribed by the Government. He would be not below the rank of a Director to the Government of India or an equivalent officer of the State Government.

The adjudicating officer has powers to dispense punishments of upto 10 years of Imprisonment and upto One crore of financial penalty based on his findings. Analysts who are terming the powers vested with the Police Authorities under the Act as "Draconian" should consider the possibility of misuse of powers by one of the many adjudicating officers who may be operating under the system. Not withstanding the possibility of an Appeal, the damage that a dishonest or an inefficient adjudicating officer may inflict on innocent Netizens, Network managers,Cyber Cafe owners,ISPs or IT Companies could be debilitating.

The Act doesnot specify any checks and balances to prevent misuse of the powers of the adjudicating officers.

On the otherhand, Sec 84 provides protection from legal action to the adjudicating officer for acts done in good faith. 

These provisions need to be reviewed and a proper system for appointment, periodical review, transfer, and removal of the adjudicating officer need to be provided. 

It would not be easy to find persons with the right qualifications which require a combination of IT and Legal knowledge the adjudicating officer. 

One of the solutions to this problem is to mandate that all enquiries will be held in the presence of an "Expert watch-dog committee" consisting of atleast three members of the public with requisite knowledge and integrity. This committee can be drawn from a pool of talented persons created for the purpose with the assistance of the Cyber Regulations Advisory Committee. The members of this committee should record their comments independently in a confidential report to the CVC or such other authority which can be referred to in the event of necessity and when an appeal being heard. 

According to Sec 82, all officers of the Cyber Regulations Appelate Tribunal and the Office of the Controller would be deemed as "Public Sevants under Sec 21 of IPC". This clause doesnot include the Adjudicating officer. ALso experts feel that the public servant definition should be linked to the definition in the "Prevention of Corruption Act" and not "IPC" Necessary modifications are required to put a rein on the "Multiple Draconian Powers bestowed on the Adjudicating officers under the Act"