Vijay Bahadur v. Union of India

The Cyber Blog IndiaCase Summary

Bail application in a case involving recording of videos through hidden cameras in girls' washrooms of a school

Vijay Bahadur v. Union of India
(2019) 5 All LJ 513
In the High Court of Allahabad
Habeas Corpus WP 4040/2018
Before Justice R.S. Ram (Maurya) and Justice Rajiv Gupta
Decided on May 29, 2019

Relevance of the Case: Bail application in a case involving recording of videos through hidden cameras in girls’ washrooms of a school

Statutes and Provisions Involved

  • The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Sections 66, 67)
  • The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (Sections 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
  • The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932 (Section 7)

Relevant Facts of the Case

  • A large crowd had gathered outside a school. The crowd was protesting and raising slogans against the school authorities for fixing hidden cameras in the girls’ toilets and recording their private parts. These videos were then uploaded on the internet to earn money.
  • Considering the public agitation after this incident, the District Magistrate passed the detention order. This order was served to the petitioner while he was in jail. The UP Advisory Board (Detention) and the State Government further affirmed the detention order.
  • The petitioner also sent a representation to the Central Government regarding his detention. However, this representation was rejected.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

  • The petitioner’s counsel argued that the school authorities had already suspended the petitioner. Moreover, the District Magistrate had no material on record to conclude that enlarging the petitioner on bail would affect the public order.

Opinion of the Bench

  • The bench referred to various cases to conclude that preventive detention is necessary to prevent the petitioner from endangering the State or public order.
  • The bench also held that it is not the number of acts that matter but the impact of the acts that is important.

Final Decision

  • The bench rejected the bail application.

Marc Pereira, an undergraduate student at Rizvi Law College, Mumbai, prepared this case summary during his internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2022.