Nidhi R. Sasi v. State of Kerala
In the High Court of Kerala
B.A. 4768/2014
Before Justice V.K. Mohanan
Decided on July 22, 2014

Relevancy of the case: Anticipatory bail application for offences under Section 67 and Section 67A of Information Technology Act, 2000.

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67, 67A)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 34, 306, 506(ii))
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 438)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• It is alleged that the deceased husband of the de facto complainant was in love with the petitioner.
• The petitioner along with the deceased visited the house of his brother and threatened to kill the de facto complainant and her daughter if they do not commit suicide.
• The petitioner used to send obscene messages to the cell phone of the deceased to which he committed suicide.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel argued that the petitioner was attacked by the deceased immediately after the date of the betrothal of the petitioner and she had sustained serious and severe injuries. He further argued that during the investigation, the police filed reports wherein they stated that no offence under Section 306 is disclosed. Moreover, the investigation is now confined to the offences punishable under Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act for which the custody of the petitioner is not necessary and being a lady, she is entitled to get an order of pre-arrest bail.
• The respondent’s counsel opposed the bail petition and submitted that the investigation is going on and so far, Section 306 of IPC is not deleted from the above crime. Hence, bail should not be granted at this stage.

Opinion of the Bench

• The Court believed that the custodial interrogation of the petitioner is not required, especially after two years of the registration of FIR. No material is collected or no evidence is available to attract Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 against the petitioner.

Final Decision

• Petition allowed.
• Bail granted with certain conditions.

This case summary has been prepared by Ria Verma, an undergraduate student at Symbiosis Law School, Noida, during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2021.