Rajasthan High Court orders social media ban for man accused of uploading morphed image of minor

The Rajasthan High Court has banned a man accused of uploading a morphed picture of a minor girl from using social media for three years [Tulsa Ram @ Tushar v State of Rajasthan].

Justice Ashok Kumar Jain passed the direction while granting bail to the accused in a voyeurism case registered under Section 77 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

In the order passed on July 6, the Court observed that the accused had misused social media and thus it would be appropriate to prohibit him from using the platforms for at least three years to teach him a lesson.

“The applicant-accused shall submit an affidavit/undertaking  before the trial Court for not using social media platform including facebook, instagram, thread, snapchat etc. for a period of three years and if it is found that the applicant-accused is using any of the social media platform in his own name or any fictitious name then his bail order may be recalled by the trial Court itself,” the Court directed.

The accused was arrested on April 2 in a case registered on February 12. The accused claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case. His counsel said he had been in jail since April 2 and urged for the grant of bail.

The accused's counsel also made a statement that he could be prohibited from using social media if the Court is of the view that he has misused social media.

Considering that the accused has remained in custody for a considerable period of time and that the trial was unlikely to conclude soon, the Court granted bail to the accused. 

Advocate Vikram Singh Jaitawat represented the petitioner.

Public Prosecutor Narendra Kumar Gehlot with Advocates Om Prakash Choudhary and Awar Dan Ujjwal represented the State and complainant. 

[Read Order]