Karnataka HC refuses to quash FIR against woman accused of uploading obscene video online
Bengaluru, Dec 23: The Karnataka High Court has declined to quash an FIR registered against a woman accused of 'uploading' an obscene video online, saying the presence of the petitioner is required for the purpose of investigation and to clear her name.
The petitioner has approached the High Court claiming that she has been living in Dubai for the last 13 years and someone has misused her identity to obtain a SIM card for the crime.
The court observed that her name being mentioned in the FIR does not make her a culprit and she is only a suspected accused. Hence, she has to appear for the investigation and provide details allowing the police to file the charge sheet against the real perpetrators.
The accused moved the HC and her petition was heard by Justice K Natarajan. She has been charged under Sections 67 and 67(B) of the Information Technology Act for allegedly uploading a nude video on the internet.
The case was registered by the Cyber, Economic and Narcotics Crime (CEN) police on January 16, 2021 naming the petitioner as the accused after obtaining details from the mobile service providers. The SIM card used for uploading the video was in the name of the accused. In the meantime, another accused in the case obtained anticipatory bail.
The petitioner contended before the HC that she has been residing in Dubai for the last 13 years and "if somebody used the phone and purchased the SIM card in her name, then she is not responsible for the it."
It was also claimed that the original complaint was against another person named Midula S/o Muralidharan.
The government advocate argued that the mention of the name, Midula in the complaint was a "mistake committed by the police during the cut and paste method in the computer."
The two were completely different cases. He argued that the accused is "very much required for investigation to confirm whether the SIM card was obtained by her or not or she has purchased or given it to some other person or not which has to be investigated."
Dismissing the petition, the court said, "Merely the name of the petitioner appeared in the FIR, that itself cannot be construed as she is the main culprit, but, she is only a suspected accused.
Therefore, the police are at liberty to file a charge-sheet against the original/actual accused persons. Therefore, the presence of this petitioner is required for the purpose of investigation."
The HC said that she should appear for investigation in order to clear her name.
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Drug peddler's property worth Rs 1 crore attached in Srinagar
Srinagar (PTI): Property worth Rs 1 crore belonging to a notorious drug peddler was on Saturday attached in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar, police said.
A double-storey house on eight marlas of land situated at Wantpora Eidgah, belonging to Basit Bilal Dar, a notorious drug peddler, valued at approximately Rs 1 crore, a police spokesperson said.
He said Dar is involved in two cases registered under various sections of the NDPS Act.
During investigation, it was established that the accused had acquired the said property through illicit proceeds generated from drug trafficking activities, the spokesperson said.
Consequently, the property was attached under the provisions of the NDPS Act. The attachment proceedings were conducted in the presence of the two independent witnesses, strictly in accordance with the prescribed legal procedures, he said.
As per the attachment order, the owner has been restrained from selling, leasing, transferring, altering, or creating any third-party interest in the property till further orders, the spokesperson added.
