Sarikh Ali (Sharikh) v. State of Madhya Pradesh
In the High Court of Madhya Pradesh
Misc. Crl. Case 9142/2020
Before Justice S.K. Awasthi
Decided on March 02, 2020

Relevancy of the case: Bail application in a case involving transmission of nude photographs on social media

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67A)
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (Section 11, 12)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 354A, 354C, 354D)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 439)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The victim alleges that approximately three years back, the applicant asked her to remove her clothes and took nude photographs.
• The petitioner then allegedly transmitted the photographs via social media to defame her.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel argued that the applicant and the victim were in a relationship, as is corroborated by the photographs seized by the police. Although the victim claimed that around three years back, the applicant asked her to remove her clothes and took her nude photographs, however, there is no proof of the same.
• Further, no evidence is available to establish that the applicant transmitted any obscene material relating to the victim electronically with the intent to defame her. Therefore, requirements of Section 67A Information Technology Act, 2000 are not fulfilled.

Opinion of the Bench

• The Court was of the view that, considering the facts and circumstances of the case, bail can be granted on certain conditions.

Final Decision

• Petition allowed.
• Bail granted.

This case summary has been prepared by Mehula Liza Pallathu, an undergraduate student at the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi, during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in May/June 2021.