MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently quashed a criminal case registered against a woman for commenting on a social media post that included a video of three girls in school uniform consuming liquor.
In her comment dated March 3, 2024, the woman petitioner had criticised the DMK government by commenting that it has spoiled the future generation. Based on a complaint lodged by a DMK supporter, the Tiruchy cyber crime wing booked the woman under sections 504, 505(1)(b) and 153 of the IPC, 66E of the Information Technology Act, 2008, and under sections 74 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, 2015. Urging the case to be quashed, the woman moved the high court the same year.
Opposing the petition, the government counsel argued that the above video revealed the face of the girls and that the woman had violated their privacy by sharing the post.
Hearing the petition recently, Justice L Victoria Gowri observed that it was not the petitioner who shared the video. She had only commented on a video shared by a third party and therefore the charges under the JJ Act would not apply.