The Allahabad High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against Imran Khan in a case registered under Sections 147, 148, 149 IPC, Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2008, and Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, observing that merely liking a post on social media does not amount to publishing or transmitting obscene or provocative material.
The decision was rendered by Justice Saurabh Srivastava in an application filed under Section 482 CrPC (Application No. 26678 of 2024), seeking quashing of the charge sheet dated 06.04.2021, cognizance order dated 07.02.2022, and the entire proceedings of Criminal Case No. 2961 of 2022 pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Agra.
Background of the Case
The case originated from Case Crime No. 53 of 2019 registered at Police Station Mantola, District Agra. It was alleged that the applicant, Imran Khan, had posted provocative messages on social media which led to the unlawful assembly of 600-700 individuals from the Muslim community without police permission, creating a threat to public peace.
The FIR was registered under sections pertaining to rioting and unlawful assembly, along with provisions of the IT Act and Criminal Law Amendment Act.
Arguments by Parties
The applicant’s counsel, Abhishek Ankur Chaurasia and Diwan Saifullah Khan, submitted that there was no objectionable content found on the applicant’s Facebook account as per the Cyber Crime Cell report. They also cited a coordinate bench’s order dated 18.10.2023 in favour of co-accused Imran Kazi, wherein the Investigating Officer had only identified a post made by one Chaudhari Farhan Usman, which was liked—not shared or published—by the co-accused.
On the other hand, the Government Advocate argued that while no content was found on the applicant’s Facebook due to its deletion, certain materials were present on WhatsApp and other social media platforms, as per the case diary.
Court’s Observations
The Court closely examined Section 67 of the IT Act and noted:
“Publishing or transmitting obscene material is an offence… a post or message can be said to be published when it is posted, and… transmitted when it is shared or retweeted.”
It concluded that liking a post does not amount to either publishing or transmitting and thus does not attract the provision. Furthermore, the material allegedly available on social media lacked the provocative character required to sustain the charges.
The Court also emphasized:
“No message which could be provocative in nature is available on record and merely liking a message published by Chaudhari Farhan Usman will not attract penalty under Section 67 of the IT Act or any other criminal offence.”
The Court distinguished between the dissemination of obscene material (required for application of Section 67) and the act of merely expressing agreement or appreciation via social media engagement such as ‘liking’.
Decision
The Court found no incriminating material linking the applicant to objectionable or provocative content and held:
“No case is made out against the applicant.”
Accordingly, it quashed the proceedings in Criminal Case No. 2961 of 2022 against Imran Khan. The application was allowed, with liberty to the trial court to proceed against other co-accused, if legally permissible.
Case Title: Imran Khan v. State of U.P. and Another
Case No.: Application U/S 482 No. 26678 of 2024
