Anu Mathew v. State of Kerala
In the High Court of Kerala
B.A. 1377/2020
Before Justice P V Kunhikrishnan
Decided on August 10, 2020

Relevancy of the case: Bail application in a case involving the transmission of morphed obscene pictures of a minor on porn sites

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67, 66A, 66E)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 354A, 354D, 290, 507, 503, 465, 466, 500, 509)
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (Section 11, 12)
• The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 (Section 3)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The first petitioner allegedly morphed and uploaded pictures of the de facto complainant’s daughter (13 years old) on porn websites.
• Also, the second petitioner, who is the father of the first petitioner allegedly gave statements on Facebook which defamed the complainant.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioners’ counsel submitted that no allegations are made out for his clients, especially the second petitioner.
• The respondent’s counsel argued that the allegations are serious as the morphed photographs were uploaded on pornographic websites.

Opinion of the Bench

• Considering the precedent of bail is a rule, jail is an exception, the court gave its decision.
• The court also believed that custodial interrogation was necessary for investigation in the case of the first petitioner.

Final Decision

• Bail granted to the second petitioner, subject to certain conditions.
• Bail application for the first petitioner dismissed.