Mohd. Arif v. State of Uttarakhand
In the High Court of Uttarakhand
C.M.A. (C-482) 909/2014
Before Justice U C Dhyani
Decided on August 19, 2014

Relevancy of the case: Bail application in a case involving transmission of fake news and extortion

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67A)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 384, 389, 504, 109, 120B, 468)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 482)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The complainant approached the police claiming that he was receiving ransom calls for disclosing some official confidential documents. Further, he claimed that a particular channel was broadcasting fake information about him.

Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel argued that the petitioner’s phone number is not in the FIR and that a sting operation is not an offence. Further, the petitioner didn’t transmit the news. He was only the managing director of the channel.
• The respondent’s counsel submitted that it is reasonable to assume that any material would be transmitted with the consent of the Managing Director.

Opinion of the Bench

• It cannot be assumed that the applicant did not transmit sexually explicit material in the electronic form, as he is the channel’s Managing Director.
• It is not a fit case to grant protection from arrest, noting that the bail applications of the co-accused were also denied.

Final Decision

• Application rejected.

This case summary has been prepared by Akshita Rohatgi, an undergraduate student of the University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2o21.