Spreading a nude photo of a person is an offence u/s 67A of the IT Act - Bombay HC

Case: Esrar Nazrul Ahmad vs The State of Maharashtra

Court: Justice Bharati Dangre 

The Bombay High Court recently observed that forwarding a nude video is an offense under Section 67A of the Information Technology (IT) Act. The term "sexually explicit" under section 67A includes a video showing a person in the nude.

BACKGROUND

In April 2022, a woman approached Thane Police to file a case against the accused, a friend of her husband for sending her nude video to multiple people including her husband. She developed intimacy with the accused person and had a sexual relationship with her consent. The accused person requested her to share her nude video and promised to delete it after watching the video. However, during a visit to the accused's home, his wife and daughter confronted her with the footage and told her not to establish any relationship with the applicant.

The victim then severed ties with the accused. Three years later, the accused reconnected with her by threatening her with the old video. Upon this threat, she again started meeting him. Later, he shared the video with multiple people including her husband and her village.

This prompted the woman to file a complaint and hence, was booked under Section 67A of the Information Technology Act.

HELD

The Court held that his claim that just a nude video would not amount to "sexually explicit" was wrong. Noting that the allegations levelled against the man were serious, the Court held that the case requires his custodial investigation and refused to grant him anticipatory bail.