Haneefa v. State of Kerala
In the High Court of Kerala
B.A. 7454/2017
Before Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V.
Decided on November 9, 2017

Relevancy of the case: Bail application in a case involving sending of defamatory messages on a WhatsApp group

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 292)
• The Kerala Police Act, 2011 (Section 120(6))

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The complainant was the administrator of a WhatsApp group, and the petitioner was also a member of the said group.
• The complainant found a few statements of the petitioner defamatory and hence filed a complaint.

Opinion of the Bench

• The court noted that the petitioner’s custodial interrogation is not required in this instant case. Although, necessary conditions can be imposed to safeguard the interest of the prosecution.
• The petitioner was directed to provide access to the mobile phone that he used to transmit the offensive messages to the investigating officer.

 Final Decision

• Bail application allowed with conditions.

This case summary has been prepared by Anushka Ojha, an undergraduate student at Bharati Vidyapeeth New Law College, Pune, during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in May/June 2021.