Manaf V.B. v. State of Kerala
In the High Court of Kerala
BA 1769, 1772/2016
Before Justice B. Sudheendra Kumar
Decided on March 16, 2016

Relevancy of the Case: Bail application in a case involving creating a web page inviting individuals to have sexual intercourse with minors

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (34, 120B, 212, 366A, 370)
• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66C, 67)
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, 2012 (Section 13(b), 13(c), 14)
• The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (Section 4, 5)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The petitioners and others created a webpage on locanto.in that showed sexually explicit pictures of minor children with obscene comments.
• They advertised this webpage and circulated it over the internet. These advertisements invited individuals to have sexual intercourse with minors in safe places for a negotiable cost.
• The accused engaged in the trafficking of minor girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation from places in and outside Kerala.
• They also published media depicting children in sexually explicit acts.
• The petitioners also helped some of the accused persons in the present case to abscond while the investigating authorities were trying to apprehend them.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The public prosecutor opposed the bail application. He submitted that there were serious allegations against the petitioner. He has also transported minor children to foreign children.
• The petitioner’s counsel maintained that petitioners are innocent. He stated that the only allegation against petitioners is protecting some offenders.

Opinion of the Bench

• These are serious allegations raised against the petitioners. These allegations affect the morale of society.
• Granting bail at this stage will mean that the petitioners will likely repeat similar offences.

Final Decision

• The bench dismissed the bail application.