Allahabad high court
Mohd Imran Kazi vs. State of U.P. and Another
APPLICATION U/S 482 No. – 31091 of 2023
Introduction
A review of Section 67 of the IT Act makes it very evident that publishing or transmitting pornographic material is illegal. In this case, however, Justice Arun Kumar decided that simply liking a post would not be considered publishing or transmitting the post, and as such, it cannot be subject to Section 67 of the IT Act penalties. Only when a message or post is shared, retweeted, or uploaded can it be published or disseminated. In this instance, there was no such publication or transmission of any pornographic or unpleasant information.
Facts of the case
The applicant, Mohd Imran Kazi, has applied to suppress the contested charge sheet and the non-bailable warrant that accuses him of posing a serious threat to public order. Allegations were made that the applicant’s aggressive social media posts induced an assembly of roughly 600–700 Muslim community members to organise a parade without permission, posing a severe threat to peacekeeping efforts.
The applicant’s attorney argued that no such content was discovered in the file. Additionally, there are no posts on the applicant’s Facebook page that may be construed as inflammatory, according to the Cyber Crime Cell’s reports. Since the applicant removed such offensive posts from Facebook, WhatsApp, and other social media platforms, the learned A.G.A. was satisfied that there were no posts there.
The I.O. was instructed by the court to provide proof of these offensive messages to the court. The I.O. arrived in court and cited a post by Chaudhari Farhan Usman, which the applicant found appealing, which stated that they would meet in front of the collectorate to deliver the memorandum to the Honourable President of India.
Court’s observation and analysis
A review of Section 67 of the IT Act makes it very evident that publishing or transmitting pornographic material is illegal. The only instances in which it is illegal are when someone publishes, transmits, or orders the publication or transmission of any electronic material that has the potential to corrupt and deprave those who read, view, or hear it.
Only when a message or post is shared, retweeted, or uploaded can it be considered published or disseminated. In this instance, there was no such publication or transmission of any pornographic or unpleasant information. Nevertheless, provocative material is not covered by Section 67 of the IT Act but is for obscene material. Since the phrase “lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest” refers to sexual desire and interest, other provocative content is not subject to punishment under Section 67 of the I.T. Act.
The current application was therefore approved.
Adv. Khanak Sharma