Allahabad High Court Denies Bail to Man Accused of Sharing Indecent Images, Cites Grave Impact of Digital Crimes

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By Rajesh Pandey

The Allahabad High Court, while rejecting the bail application of a man accused of circulating private and indecent photographs of a woman on WhatsApp, underscored the serious societal harm posed by digital crimes.

The court observed that when such content is shared publicly on social media platforms, it has the potential to “destroy lives”, highlighting the darker side of emerging technologies.

 

“Digital technology is altering the face of crime. Indecent pictures of a person, when circulated on public platforms by social media, can destroy lives. This is the hard social reality,” noted Justice Ajay Bhanot, who presided over the matter.

 

The accused was arrested in January 2025 under provisions of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

He was alleged to have circulated private images of the complainant through WhatsApp. After his bail plea was earlier rejected by a trial court in April, he approached the High Court seeking relief.

However, the High Court, after reviewing the materials on record, noted that certain objectionable images were recovered from the accused and that their forensic analysis was pending.

Given the nature of the accusations and the likelihood of the accused’s involvement, the court found no grounds to grant him bail.

At the same time, the bench expressed serious concern over the increasing misuse of digital platforms for committing offences that have devastating social consequences.

While denying bail, the court also stressed the need for a swift and effective judicial process.

To that end, the court issued specific directions:

• The district judge was instructed to submit weekly reports on the progress of the trial.

• The Deputy Director of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) was directed to ensure the submission of the forensic report within two months.

• The trial court was advised to conclude the proceedings preferably within one year.

The observations were made in the court’s order dated June 2, 2025.

It is worth noting that Justice Bhanot, who passed the current order, has previously flagged concerns regarding the increasing menace of circulating obscene content on social media.

In multiple rulings since 2023, he has emphasised the urgent need for improved policing and forensic investigation in cybercrime cases.

In one such instance, he remarked that the quality of investigations conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Police in IT-related offences was “very weak”, calling it a “major fault line” in law enforcement’s response to digital crime.

He had also previously observed that the storage and circulation of indecent videos, particularly those involving women, was becoming a serious threat to societal well-being, and called upon the police to maintain high standards of efficiency in dealing with such sensitive cases.

With this ruling, the court has once again reinforced the need for prompt and robust investigation, while also ensuring that the judicial process is not unduly delayed, especially in matters involving digital offences that could gravely impact individuals and society.