A magistrate court has recently granted bail to a man accused of sending rape threats to a minor on social media and said, “Merely because the matter is connected with some respectable Indian cricket team member, bail cannot be rejected.”
The case was filed at the Cyber Police Station, West division, under Sections 354-A (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment), 500 (punishment for defamation) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the IPC along with Sections of the Information Technology Act. It is alleged that the accused through his social media accounts used language causing threats to assault a minor girl by publishing or transmitting material depicting a child.
He was remanded in police custody and then magisterial custody on November 16. He sought bail on the grounds the social media posts cannot be considered in isolation. The prosecutor opposed the bail mainly on the grounds that he is from Hyderabad, is an expert in concealing his identity and may not turn up to face trial.
Metropolitan magistrate Komalsing Rajput recorded, “It is alleged that after the defeat of a cricket match by India against Pakistan, there was public outcry and people across India responded aggressively and criticised the team members. The accused while responding crossed limits and made some sexually coloured remarks against the child of one of the members of the Indian cricket team.”
The court noted, “If we perused record and considered the remarks posted and phraseology used in its natural course, it appears that it was made in the context of some other posts and may not be directly addressed to the cricketer or his family, though as social media accounts are inter-connected it might have read/received by them. This aspect for the limited purpose of bail cannot be ignored.”
The order passed on November 25 read, “Majority of the offences are bailable. The offence is triable by this court itself. The investigation relating to the accused person is over. Majority or even whole evidence is already collected and therefore the possibility of tampering is almost nil.
“The accused is of tender age. He is having a bright academic record and future prospects. He has no criminal antecedents. Bail is a rule and jail is an exception. Merely because the matter is connected with some respectable Indian cricket team member, bail cannot be rejected.”
