Akash v. State of Kerala
In the High Court of Kerala
B.A. 9519/2022
Before Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas
Decided on December 16, 2022

Relevancy of the case:  Bail application in a case involving forcing a minor to disrobe herself on a WhatsApp video call

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66E, 67A, 67B)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 354C, 354D, 509)
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (Section 4, 3(c), 11, 15)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The petitioner forced the victim to disrobe herself during WhatsApp video calls initiated by the petitioner on Onam 2022.
• The police arrested and took him into custody on November 11, 2022.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the police is still investigating the case. Moreover, he has already served over a month in detention.
• The public prosecutor contended that the petitioner had threatened the victim before. Therefore, the court should not release him on bail.

Opinion of the Bench

• The court acknowledged the severe nature of the case and the period of detention already served by the petitioner.
• The court ordered the petitioner to not engage in any medium of criminal intimidation or hampering with the evidence conditional to his bail application.

Final Decision

• The court granted the bail application, subject to conditions.

Upama Nandy, an undergraduate student at Symbiosis Law School, Pune, prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2023.