Posting Objectionable Posts Defaming Women On Facebook Amounts To Offence U/S. 354,354D IPC: Bombay High Court
The applicant had approached the Bombay High Court seeking quashing of the First Information Report for the offences punishable under Sections 354, 354-D of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke, Justice Nandesh S. Deshpande, Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench)
While rejecting an application to quash proceedings in a criminal case registered against a man, the Bombay High Court has held that posting defamatory and objectionable material relating to a woman on Facebook amounts to committing an offence under Sections 354 & 354-D of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The applicant had approached the High Court by filing the application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, seeking quashing of the First Information Report for the offences punishable under Sections 354, 354-D of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The Division Bench of Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke & Justice Nandesh S. Deshpande held, “In the light of these legal provisions, if we peruse the First Information Report in question and the post to which their is an objection, it can certainly be said that posting of a post on a social site i.e. Facebook, would amount to committing an offence as contemplated under the above sections.”
Advocate Sunil Kulkarni represented the Petitioner, while Additional Public Prosecutor S.S. Dhote represented the Respondent.
Factual Background
The second non-applicant got married in 2019, and since the date of her marriage, she has been residing at her matrimonial home. As per the complaint, she became acquainted with the applicant via Facebook before her marriage, and used to chat with him. It was further alleged in the report that the applicant had proposed marriage to the non-applicant, but she refused the said proposal, as she did not like the applicant. On this refusal, the applicant got annoyed and, to defame her, posted on her Facebook account certain objectionable material from his mobile phone on four different occasions.
It was further alleged that the applicant, one day before the date of the non-applicant's marriage, had been to her house with a bottle of poison and had threatened to commit suicide. The non-applicant stated that the applicant was stalking her by posting defamatory and objectionable material on her Facebook account and was trying to cause hurdles and disturbance in her marital life. Thus, the non-applicant had lodged a complaint against the applicant.
Reasoning
The Bench explained that Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code contemplates assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, while Section 354-D speaks about stalking and states that any man who does any act as provided in that section would be guilty of the said offence. As per the Bench, by posting online defamatory and objectionable content , the applicant had committed the aforesaid offences.
The Bench took note of the fact that the non-applicant is a married lady and is residing with her husband. “Assuming that the non-applicant No.2 had some relation prior to her marriage with the applicant, and even assuming that the applicant had lent money to her on assurance of marriage, that cannot be construed as giving a license to the applicant herein to post some objectionable post over the social site”, the order read.
The Bench found that, at least at a prima facie stage, no case was made out to quash the proceeding at the threshold. The application thus came to be rejected.
Cause Title: Tukaram v. State Of Maharashtra (Neutral Citation: 2025:BHC-NAG:13357-DB)
Appearance
Applicant: Advocates Sunil Kulkarni, S.D. Chande
Respondent: Additional Public Prosecutor S.S. Dhote