Allahabad High Court Orders Restoration of Woman’s Mobile Number, Questions Misuse of Cyber Complaint by Husband
By Rajesh Pandey
The Allahabad High Court has strongly criticised the manner in which a woman’s mobile number was blocked following a complaint lodged by her husband, observing that no citizen should suffer because of careless and irresponsible actions by government authorities.
The court directed the Cyber Cell of the Lucknow Police Commissionerate to take urgent measures to restore the woman’s mobile number, which was deactivated after authorities acted on what the court described as a baseless complaint arising from a matrimonial dispute.
In addition, the High Court asked the husband to explain why he should not be directed to compensate his wife for filing what appeared to be a frivolous and unjustified complaint that led to the blocking of her number.
The matter came before the court through a writ petition filed by the woman, who sought restoration of her mobile connection after losing access to it due to the police action.
The case was heard by a Division Bench comprising Justice J.J. Munir and Justice Tarun Saxena.
During the proceedings, the bench noted that the mobile number had been blocked solely based on allegations made by the husband amid an ongoing marital conflict.
Representing the petitioner, advocate Prashant Pandey argued that the complaint submitted by the husband lacked merit and that the number remained blocked for such an extended period that the telecom company eventually reassigned it to another subscriber.
Earlier, in March, the High Court had directed the officer in charge of the Cyber Cell at the Lucknow Police Commissionerate to clarify the circumstances under which the mobile number had been blocked.
When the matter was taken up again on May 15, the bench expressed dissatisfaction with the explanation provided by the police authorities.
The court observed that the dispute appeared to be purely matrimonial in nature and that the complaint leading to the blocking of the number originated from the husband.
It further remarked that the position taken by the Cyber Cell officer in his personal affidavit was highly irresponsible.
The officer had relied on certain guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs concerning the blocking, freezing and debiting of information received through the national cyber portal.
However, the court pointed out that such provisions are intended to address genuine cybercrime concerns and should not be misapplied in personal disputes.
Expressing concern over the consequences of the action, the bench noted that the woman was simply seeking restoration of her phone number, yet authorities were now claiming that the telecom company had already allotted it to another customer.
The court remarked that a citizen cannot be subjected to such injustice because of negligent handling by state agencies.
In view of these circumstances, the High Court issued notice to the state government and instructed the concerned authorities to take immediate steps to restore the woman’s original mobile number.
The bench specifically directed the In-Charge of the Cyber Cell, Lucknow Police Commissionerate, to coordinate with the concerned telecom service provider, believed to be Jio Telecom Services Limited, and make every effort to recover and restore the number to the petitioner.
The court further ordered the Cyber Cell officer to submit a fresh personal affidavit detailing the steps taken toward compliance within one week.
At the same time, the High Court issued a show-cause notice to the husband, asking him to explain why he should not be held liable to pay damages to his wife for initiating a complaint that allegedly resulted in unwarranted hardship and inconvenience.
