Circulating obscene video on social-media: Court rejects bail plea of accused

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: Munsiff Reasi Aarti Devi has rejected bail application of one Manjeet Singh who circulated obscene video of girl on social media.
According to police case, Police Station Reasi registered FIR on the complaint of complainant alleging therein that accused prepared false and fake nude video of complainant and screen-shot of same was shared to him by some unknown person from an unknown whatsapp number and on enquiry, the person disclosed his name as Manjeet Singh. Thereafter, complainant after stating that video does not belong to her, blocked his number. After a few days, the accused contacted her again from another Whatsapp number and asked her that video belonged to her. Complainant tried her best to convince accused that video doesn’t belong to her and asked him to stop torturing her. After a few days, the complainant came to know that her fake nude video was circulating on social media, as an attempt by accused to defame her.
Munsiff Reasi Aarti Devi after hearing both the sides observed that the prima facie accusation of offences alleged against accused person under sections 354-D of IPC, 66-E, 67-A, 67 of IT is under investigation and same is at initial stage. “Accused is in police custody since August 31, 2022. During the investigation, statements of some of the witnesses including the complainant are also recorded. Without commenting much on the merits of case and giving any finding on the truthiness or falsity of allegation will amount to pre trial findings which is not permissible under law but the allegations as already said above are prima facie established which pertains not only to complainant but same has its wide impact on the society as a whole. Especially, where technology is used as a tool of committing alleged crime and then in modern digital world same gets spread in public within no time and damage to a victim has already been done even before he or she got the knowledge of same as happened in present case who is a college going girl and her college friends informed her about the video. This court can well understand the impact of the same on the mind of the girl and her family who must be feeling helpless and granting bail to the accused at such an initial stage will not only send the wrong message to society but also shake the confidence of the general public in the criminal justice system. Investigation has just started which requires so much documentary evidence to be evaluated and scrutinized that too with the help of forensic expertise and the same consumes sometime and if the accused is released now then there is every likelihood of delay in investigation. And last but not the least, this court thinks that such types of offences are more serious than even rape as here prestige of girl will get degraded in whole world and she will be made answerable to the whole society for the acts which was not even committed by her or we can also say that she has to prove her innocence for lifetime,” the Court observed and rejected the bail application.