Madras High Court refuses to quash case against BJP's S Ve Shekher booked for derogatory Facebook post against women journalists

The Madras High Court on Friday refused to quash the criminal proceedings pending against actor and former member of legislative assembly (MLA) S Ve Shekher over a 2018 Facebook post that contained a derogatory message against women journalists. .In an order passed on Friday, July 14, Justice N Anand Venkatesh said that though Shekher had not authored the said post and only forwarded it through his Facebook account, considering that he was a public figure and had substantial reach on social media, he will have to bear the consequences for the damage caused. The Court also noted that Shekher had taken down the post subsequently and had also offered an unconditional apology. However, an offence had already been committed by forwarding such post and Shekher could not get away with a mere apology, the Court said.."The message forwarded by the petitioner contains indecent and vitriolic attack on a particular woman and other women press reporters. Hence, prima facie, the offence under Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 2002 is also cases made out. It is true that the petitioner removed the derogatory message from his Facebook account even on the same day and he also apologised for having forwarded the message. These acts, by themselves, do not help the petitioner from facing the consequences for forwarding a derogatory message. An offence has already been committed and the petitioner cannot now escape from the offence by merely coming up with an apology statement subsequently," High Court said..Multiple complaints were made following which FIRs were registered against Shekher, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, following the said derogatory post in 2018. .While Shekher told the High Court that he had received the post from one Thirumalai Sadagopan from California and that he had inadvertently forwarded it from his account without even reading its contents, Justice Venkatesh said that Shekher should have been more careful before forwarding the message for, it contained objectionable language against all women journalists. The said post, the Court said, constituted the offence of outraging the modesty of women and disturbing public peace. "A message that is sent or forwarded in the social media is like an arrow, which has already been shot from the bow. Till that message remains with the sender, it is within his control. Once it is sent, it is like the arrow, which has already been shot and the sender of the message must take the ownership for the consequences of the damage done by that arrow. Once the damage is done, it will become very difficult to wriggle out of the same by issuing an apology statement," the High Court said..[Read Order]