M. P. Basheer v. State of Kerala
In the High Court of Kerala
Crl. MC. 6793/2019 (H)
Before Justice R. Narayana Pisharadi
Decided on October 11, 2019

Relevancy of the case: Quashing proceedings under Section 66A and Section 85 of the Information Technology Act, 2000

Statutes and Provisions Involved

•  The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66A, 85)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, (Section 482)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The petitioner has filed this application for quashing the proceedings in the case 02/11/CPS of the Cyber Crime Police Station.
• The allegations against the petitioner are under Sections 66A and 85 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Opinion of the Bench

• The Supreme Court has struck down Section 66A in the case of Shreya Singhal v. Union of India.
• Moreover, Section 85 is only applicable if a company has committed the offence. As per the final report, it does not appear that the company has committed an offence in the present case.
• Therefore, the proceedings against the petitioner must be quashed.

Final Decision

• The court allowed the petition.