LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court refused to quash an FIR against a man who was accused of posting nude pictures of his wife on WhatsApp.
While hearing a criminal miscellaneous writ petition, the division bench, comprising Justice Pankaj Naqvi and Justice Vivek Singh Thakur, refused to quash the FIR saying that merely because the petitioner was the husband of the informant (wife) in the case, it did not constitute a valid ground to quash the FIR against him.
The bench had made the observations last week which were uploaded on court's website on Friday.
The man was booked under Section 67 of the IT Act and the court said that prima facie the allegations of offence were made out as much as there was specific allegation of putting nude pictures of the informant on WhatsApp.
In fact, the petitioner had filed the plea urging the court to direct authorities concerned to quash the FIR registered against him under Sections 270, 313,323, 376D, 34 IPC and Section 67 of IT Act. The petitioner had urged the court to direct the respondent (police) to not to arrest him during course of investigation.
The petitioner, in his submission, accused the informant (his wife) of having lodged the FIR against him on the basis of false and concocted allegations.
The court, while refusing to quash the FIR, remarked that there could be no interference with the investigation or order staying the arrest.
The court also added that prima facie it could not be said that no cognizable offence is made out. "Hence no ground exists for quashing of the FIR or staying the arrest of the petitioner."
The court called it a serious and heinous crime and observed: "Posting and uploading nude photographs of the spouse, particularly the wife, in public domain amounts to betrayal of the mutual trust and confidence which marital relations imply."