Legal provisions involved: Sections 354 and 354D of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
Judgement by: Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench
Judge/Bench: Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Justice Nandesh S. Deshpande
Facts
The complainant had become acquainted with the applicant through Facebook prior to her marriage. It was alleged that the applicant proposed marriage to her, which she declined. Thereafter, the applicant allegedly posted defamatory and objectionable content about her on Facebook on multiple occasions. It was further alleged that he visited her house with a bottle of poison and threatened suicide, and continued to harass her by posting content to disturb her marital life.
Key legal provisions
Sections 354 and 354D of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (now Sections 74 and 78 of BNS, 2023)
Issues raised
- Whether posting defamatory and objectionable content about a woman on Facebook amounts to offences under IPC?
- Whether the FIR and criminal proceedings against the applicant should be quashed at the preliminary stage?
Arguments of the case
The applicant said that the FIR was fake and filed with bad intentions, and claimed that his Facebook posts were not a crime under the law. He asked the court to cancel the case. The prosecution, however, argued that the repeated posting of offensive and defamatory content was a form of stalking and harassment, and that there was enough evidence to continue the criminal case.
Judgement
The High Court of Bombay held that a prima facie case was made out and refused to quash the FIR, observing that such conduct cannot be justified under any circumstances.
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