Niyaz Ahmad Khan v. State of Uttar Pradesh
In the High Court of Allahabad
Application u/s 482 – 28742/2021
Before Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh
Decided on February 21, 2022

Relevancy of the case: Application to quash proceedings in a case involving the posting of objectionable photos of the Prime Minister and a Cabinet Minister

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 482)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 500)
• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The applicant shared a photograph showing the Hon’ble Prime Minister shaking hands with the terrorist Hafiz Saeed.
• Another post shared by the applicant showed the Hon’ble Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Amit Shah feeding biscuits to dogs, on whom “Aaj Tak”, “Zee TV” and “India TV” were depicted.
  

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates 

• The applicant’s counsel argued that the applicant had only shared the photo and was not the creator of the same. The counsel also stated that the inspector-in-charge submitted the surveillance report. It mentioned that the URL of the ID was not available. Hence, it was not possible to trace the details of the person who made the objectionable photo viral.
• The respondent’s counsel submitted that the applicant’s act of sharing morphed photographs or objectionable content about people holding a respected position, like the Prime Minister and a Cabinet Minister of India, was undoubtedly deliberate and constituted an offence under the mentioned provisions.

Opinion of the Bench

• The court can’t go into the case’s merits, given that it is at the stage of summoning the accused.
• The court did neither find the case to fall within the category of quashing a criminal proceeding nor found that there is a prima facie case. 
• Significantly, social media has become a global platform for communication and for exercising the right to freedom of expression. However, this right does not grant an unfettered license for every possible use of language.
• In light of the above, there needs to be a check on the misuse of social media, and the courts can’t be silent spectators to such unhealthy posts. 

Final Decision

• The court disposed of the application.

Anjini Pandey, an undergraduate student at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in May/June 2022.