Mohammed Rizwan Fazluddin Kadri v. State of Gujarat
In the High Court of Gujarat
Spl.Crl.A. 1832/2009
Before Justice Akil Kureshi
Decided on February 22, 2010

Relevancy of the case: Ambit of Section 67 in the context of offensive materials present in emails.

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 507)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• A complaint was filed before the Satellite Police Station, Ahmedabad, stating that the complainant opened the electronic mailbox of the Hon’ble Chief Minister while discharging his duties.
• One of the emails contained offensive material.
• The investigating agency opined that the petitioner was responsible for the said email.
• A charge sheet was prepared against the petitioner for offences punishable under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Section 507 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
• The petitioner filed an application that contended that no case was to be made out against him, and hence, both the charges should be dropped. The learned Magistrate passed an order dismissing the application.
• The present application is filed challenging the order of the learned Magistrate.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the petitioner had limited his request for deleting Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. He did not appeal for discharge from offence under Section 507 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

Opinion of the Bench

• The Court observed that the electronic mail which the petitioner sent contained offensive material. Since Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 seeks to punish the publication of information through an electronic form that is obscene or lascivious, the petitioner cannot be charged for this offence.

 Final Decision

• Petition disposed of.
• Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 was deleted from the charge sheet.

This case summary has been prepared by Loreal Sahay, an undergraduate student at the University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2021.