Justice Subodh Abhyankar, Madhya Pradesh High Court
Unfortunate That Depraved Social Media Threats Still Bailable Offences: MP High Court Criticizes Legislative Gaps
|The accused allegedly began harassing the woman with objectionable Instagram posts and threats after their engagement ended six years ago.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court, while granting anticipatory bail to a man accused of sending threatening and disturbing messages to a woman via social media, expressed serious concerns about the existing legislative framework that classifies such actions under offences that are bailable in nature.
The matter arose from an anticipatory bail application filed by a man against whom an FIR had been registered under the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, specifically for Stalking [Section 78(1)(ii) and (2)] and Criminal Intimidation [Section 351(2)].
A Bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar, noted, "It is rather unfortunate that the person, who has threatened the victim by sending such depraved or perverted messages on social media, is still charged under the offences which are bailable in nature, as the Legislature has made no specific category of such offences in its wisdom to discourage such defiant offenders, and the victims of such offences who are women only and mostly young girls, are often left with nothing but a sense of foreboding, with no protection from the State or the Courts".
Advocate Syed Asif Ali Warsi appeared for the Applicant and Advocate Apoorv Joshi appeared for the Respondent.
According to the prosecution, the accused and the victim were engaged six years ago, but the engagement was subsequently called off. Following this, the accused allegedly began harassing the woman, posting objectionable content about her on Instagram and sending her threatening messages.
The Court reviewed the nature of the messages, which included statements like, “Even if you get married, I will ruin your marriage. This is my promise to you and I am firm on my promise. I want you to file a case against me,” “You think that you will be able to live peacefully after leaving me, this is not possible. Hey, I will have to go to jail only, I will go for 10 days maximum, then what… and I will not let you get married, no matter what consequences I have to face.”
The victim testified under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, stating that these threats had a significant impact on her life. She claimed that her engagement with another person was called off due to the threatening messages. Additionally, she had to stop attending college because she feared for her safety.
The Court, after examining the evidence and the victim's statement, observed that the content and tone of the accused’s messages clearly indicated serious threats. The Court remarked that the accused showed an alarming willingness to face extreme consequences, even jail time, in order to continue harassing the victim. These threats, according to the bench, implied the possibility of grave harm, including physical injury or even death.
The High Court also noted that the trial court failed to consider the fact that the offences were bailable and had rejected the bail application solely on merits. As a result, the High Court ordered that, in the event of the accused’s arrest, he should be released on bail. However, the court imposed a strict condition that the accused must not attempt to contact the victim in any manner.
Cause Title: Laxmikant v. The State of Madhya Pradesh, [2025:MPHC-IND:21460]