Jayan C.P. v. State of Kerala
In the High Court of Kerala
B.A. 7900/2021
Before Justice Gopinath P.
Decided on October 28, 2021

Relevancy of the case: Anticipatory bail application in a case involving the solicitation of photos and videos from a minor and sharing with others

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67B)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 354)
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (Section 11, 12)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The accused person made friends with the victim on social media and forced her to share her nude photos and videos with him.
• When the mother of the victim came to know of this relationship, she dissuaded the daughter from being with the accused.
• He threatened to share the nude pictures and videos on social media if they were separated.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel argued that Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Section 67B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 are not applicable in this case.
• The respondent’s counsel submitted that the accused coerced the victim into sending her nude pictures and videos. The police are yet to seize his phone for forensic analysis.

Opinion of the Bench

• The court noted that the petitioner had not met the victim in person.
• This is a fit case for granting the anticipatory bail, provided he gives his phone for forensic analysis.

Final Decision

• The bench accepted the anticipatory bail application with conditions.

Marc Pereira, an undergraduate student at Rizvi Law College, Mumbai, prepared this case summary during his internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2022.