Karnataka HC allows probe to continue against WhatsApp group admin over content on Hindu deities
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has declined to interfere with an ongoing investigation against a WhatsApp group administrator accused of allowing the circulation of obscene and offensive images depicting Hindu deities and certain political figures, observing that the allegations prima facie attract offences under the law.
Justice M Nagaprasanna, while dismissing the petition filed by Sirajuddin, held that the essential ingredients of Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with acts intended to outrage religious feelings, were made out at this stage. The court said it could not halt an investigation of such nature when the matter was still at a preliminary stage, as reported by Deccan Herald.
Sirajuddin, a resident of Belthangady taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, had approached the High Court seeking to quash a case registered against him in 2021 by the Cyber, Economics and Narcotics Crime police station in Mangaluru. The case was booked under Section 295A of the IPC and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, which relates to the transmission of obscene material in electronic form.
The complaint was filed by K Jayaraj Salian, who alleged that he had been added to a WhatsApp group through a link received from an unknown source. According to the complaint, the group had around six administrators and nearly 250 members, and obscene images depicting Hindu deities and certain political leaders were repeatedly shared in the group chat.
Sirajuddin was arrested in connection with the case and later released on bail on February 16, 2021. Before the High Court, he argued that he had been selectively targeted while no action was taken against the other administrators, including the creator of the group. He also contended that the case under Section 295A could not proceed in the absence of prior sanction under Section 196(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Rejecting the argument, the court clarified that prior sanction is required only at the stage when a magistrate takes cognisance of the offence and not at the stage of registration of a case or during investigation. The state placed the investigation material before the court, which, according to Justice Nagaprasanna, contained highly obscene and demeaning depictions of Hindu deities.
The judge noted that the content was such that reproducing it in a judicial order would itself be inappropriate, adding that the material, on its face, had the potential to outrage religious feelings and disturb communal harmony.
While expressing concern that the investigating agency appeared not to have proceeded uniformly against all administrators of the group, the court said it was premature to draw conclusions. It observed that if the investigation reveals active involvement of other administrators or members in permitting the circulation of such content, they too would have to face action under the law.
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Environment ministry endorses names of 10-member expert committee set up to define Aravalli hills
New Delhi (PTI): The Union Environment Ministry has told the Supreme Court that it has no objection with the Central Empowered Committee's proposed 10-member high-powered expert committee which has been tasked to come up with a uniform definition for the Aravalli hills and ranges.
In an affidavit filed before the top court, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has endorsed the names suggested for the high-powered expert committee comprising in-service and retired bureaucrats associated with the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Survey of India, along with academicians.
"The MoEFCC respectfully submits that it has no objection if this court as the aforesaid suggested names for the constitution of the proposed High Powered Committee. It is further submitted that the Ministry does not have any additional names to propose at this stage for inclusion in the said committee," the affidavit said.
The committee is proposed to be headed by Kanchan Devi, the current director general of the Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education.
The MoEF, in its affidavit, said the aspects relating to the Aravalli Hills and Ranges require a comprehensive and analytical examination, including stakeholder consultation, by a group of domain experts in the relevant fields.
The CEC in its report to the apex court said Devi, a 1991 Indian Forest Service officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre, has over three decades of experience in forestry education and research, wildlife and forest policy, and institutional leadership.
The other members include Subhash Ashutosh, former director general of FSI,
former GSI director Rajendra Kumar Sharma, climate and energy policy expert Tejal Kanitkar, senior academician and life sciences researcher Jaya Parkash Yadav, senior geographer and scholar Tejbir Singh Rana, former additional surveyor general of India SV Singh, former Gujarat principal chief conservator of forests CN Pandey, and former Nagaland PCCF Dharmendra Prakash.
The CEC also recommended names of RN Mishra, a noted author and Vijay Dhasmana, an ecological restoration practitioner and conservationist.
On February 26, the top court had asked the environment ministry and other stakeholders to suggest names of domain experts for the panel which would define the Aravalli hills and ranges, and observed that only lawful mining would be allowed in the region.
The top court, on December 29, took note of the outcry over the new definition of the Aravallis and kept in abeyance its November 20 directions that accepted a uniform definition of these hills and ranges. It had also stalled all mining activities.
It remarked that there was a need to resolve "critical ambiguities", including whether the criteria of 100-metre elevation and the 500-metre gap between hills would strip a significant portion of the range of environmental protection.
