KOCHI: The High Court has held the freedom social media offers cannot be exploited for online baiting. The court made the observation while dismissing the anticipatory bail plea of Majeesh K Mathew of Ettumanoor, an accused in a case related to the posting of abusive words against the wife of Jose K Mani MP.
“In the virtual world of social media, people feel they are free to send insulting or abusive messages to others. Though the ease to connect and interact with friends and groups has always been the strength of social media, it can also be subjected to gross abuse. The freedom social media offers cannot be exploited to do online baiting such as in this case wherein the complainant is branded as being sexually promiscuous,” the court observed.
The complainant had submitted she was very active on social media and had a Facebook account through which she kept in touch with her family and friends and interacted with her followers. She had noticed the accused indulging in an organised campaign against her online. The accused posted several comments on Facebook pages making scurrilous comments against her, she said.
The counsel for the petitioner submitted by no stretch of the imagination, will Section 67A of the IT Act, 2000, would be attracted as the posts cannot be categorised as relating to any sexually explicit act or conduct.
The prosecution said the investigation conducted till date clearly showed the petitioner and his associates had, in an organised manner, targeted the complainant. The investigation is in the early stages and it is too early to conclude the offences alleged will not be attracted.
Opposing the bail plea, the counsel for the complainant Tom Jose Padinjarekkara submitted the victim was subjected to gender-based bullying. The power of social media has been ruthlessly used to harass the complainant, the complainant’s counsel said.
The court said that it was evident there had been a concerted effort to target the complainant for having made some references about a young leader in her book. The posts the accused had posted had been in public domain for quite some time. The court held the complainant was subjected to gross online sexual harassment and the method applicant and others adopted fell within ‘cyberbullying, cyber sexism or cyber misogyny’, the court held. It also directed to surrender the petitioner before the Magistrate Court. If the accused filed an application for regular bail, it should be considered expeditiously and an order should be issued according to law.
Jesna case: HC dismisses habeas corpus petitions
Kochi : The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed two habeas corpus petitions seeking a directive to produce 21-year-old girl Jesna Maria James, of Ranni, who went missing on March 22. The court noted this is not a case of illegal detention and it is a missing case. Hence habeas corpus petition is not maintainable in man missing case. Appearing for the state government, Senior Government pleader Suman Chakravarthy submitted that effective investigation is going on to trace out the missing girl and there was no illegal detention. A special investigation team has been formed to probe the case. All information, including those which turned out to be erroneous and baseless, were verified with great care and attention, the state submitted.
Will hand over records to Red Cross Society, govt assures HC
Kochi: The state government on Tuesday submitted before the Kerala High Court the seized records and assets of the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) will soon be handed over as per the terms of the court verdict. HC had directed the state government to hand over all papers/property to the Indian Red Cross Society’s Kerala and district branches. The Supreme Court had also confirmed the order. HC posted the case for Thursday to take note of the implementation of the court’s verdict. The court issued the order on a petition filed by M P Muraleedharan, chairman, IRCS, Thiruvananthapuram.