Joyce v. State of Kerala
In the High Court of Kerala
B.A. 939/2016
Before Justice Sunil Thomas
Decided on February 12, 2016

Relevancy of the case: Bail application for alleged creation and advertisement of child pornographic website.

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67, 67B(b), 67B(c), 67B(d))
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 370(1), 34)
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (Section 13, 14(1))
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 439)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The accused created a website named ‘kochsundarikal’ where pornographic images of minor girls were depicted along with others, with abusive and sexual comments. These made a wide circulation in the social network and made advertisements throughout the Internet.
• The petitioner claims bail on the ground that the final report was not filed within the statutory period (90 days).

Final Decision

• Application allowed.
• Bail granted, subject to certain conditions.

This case summary has been prepared by Mehula Liza Pallathu, an undergraduate student at National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi, during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in May/June 2021.