Allahabad, Mar 1 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking quashing of criminal proceedings against the admin of a WhatsApp group in which a morphed photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was shared.
The court was of the view that the petitioner was a ‘group admin’ and a ‘co-extensive member of the group’ on the instant messaging platform.
Justice Mohammad Aslam dismissed the petition filed by Mohammad Imran Malik, who managed a WhatsApp group in which one of the members sent the morphed picture of the prime minister.
The petitioner’s contention was that the morphed photo was not sent by him, instead it was shared by Najam Alam. Malik said he was only the group ‘admin’.
“No case against him was made out and the proceeding was liable to be quashed,” argued his counsel.
The state government counsel opposed the plea, saying the liability of the person who sent the message and of the ‘group admin’ is co-extensive. It cannot be said that no offence under Section 66 (computer related offences) of the IT Act was made out against the petitioner, he argued.
The court, while dismissing the petition, observed, “From the perusal of the record, it appears that the applicant was a ‘group admin’ and he also a co-extensive member of the group. In view of the above, I do not find any cogent reason to interfere.” PTI RAJ RHL AAR
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Source: The Print
