Manjeet Kumar v. State of Uttarakhand & Ors.
In the High Court of Uttarakhand
W.P. (Crl.) 1227/2020
Before Justice Ravindra Maithani
Decided on August 12, 2020

Relevancy of the case: Quashing of FIR for offences involving impersonation and sharing of a minor’s phone number on social media platforms, leading to objectionable and obscene messages, along with threats for kidnapping and throwing acid

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66D, 67)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 506)
• Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 (Section 7, 8)
• The Constitution of India, 1950 (Article 226)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• According to the FIR lodged by the victim’s mother, the victim is 16 years of age. Some persons had forged the ID of the victim and two of her photographs were uploaded on a social media page.
• The telephone number of the victim was also mentioned on the social media page and because of that obscene messages were sent to her.
• The victim received many calls along with obscene and objectionable messages and the matter was reported to the police at once. When the matter was reported, the co-accused, Abhishek, threatened the informant.
• The petitioner is Abhishek’s friend and both made obscene and objectionable remarks on the victim when she joined the tuitions. They followed and molested her by making obscene remarks and also touched her private parts.
• When the victim objected to it, the petitioner and the co-accused threatened to abduct and rape her. They also said that they would throw acid on her.

Opinion of the Bench

• An arrest is not a routine followed by the investigating officer but a conscious decision that is taken after ensuring the complicity of the person involved in the offence and thereby considering the need for an arrest.
• There are statutory guidelines and directions of the Hon’ble Courts on this subject and hence the court has no doubt that the Investigating Officer, in this case, followed all the statutory provisions and guidelines, in case there is a need for arrest.

Final Decision

• The petition stands disposed of.

This case summary has been prepared by Loreal Sahay, an undergraduate student at the University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2021.