Nearly a month and a half after Delhi Police registered a case in connection with photos of Muslim women being uploaded without permission on an app called ‘Sulli deals’, investigators said the hosting platform, GitHub, has replied to their notice.
Police sources said that a notice under Criminal Procedure Code was issued to GitHub to share the details of the IP address of the web page where photographs of Muslim women were shared, but the company has responded asking the enforcement agency to take the legal route to approach them under Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT).
“GitHub has asked for a legal request to be raised under MLAT. The procedure to raise the request has been initiated,” an officer privy to the probe said.
‘Will take months’
The MLAT is an agreement between two or more countries put in place for the purpose of gathering and exchanging information in an effort to enforce laws.
Explaining the course of action, sources said that because GitHub is not an India-based platform, they can choose to not consider CrPC as legally binding.
“The documents prepared for the requested information will go to the Ministry of Home Affairs, who will then take it to the embassy concerned. The legal aid of the embassy then will take it further. This procedure will delay the information by at least a few months, sources said.
Derogatory term
In July, pictures of Muslim women were shared on the platform with the phrase “Sulli deal of the day”.
Reportedly, Sulli is a derogatory term used to refer to Muslim women. Many women who found their names on the list shared their anger on social media. A case under Section 354A (3) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at Special Cell on July 7 and the application was removed from GitHub. Police sources said that no statements have been recorded so far.
One of the women whose photo was on the web page said that while her name is not on the list of complainants in the case, she is connected with the women and in her knowledge, none of them have been contacted by the enforcement agency.
