Rajasthan HC bars accused from social media for a year; grants bail in POCSO case

NEW DELHI: The Rajasthan High Court has granted bail to a man accused of sexually harassing and stalking a minor girl, while imposing stringent conditions including a one-year ban on the use of all social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.

A single-judge Bench of Justice Ashok Kumar Jain of the Jodhpur Bench passed the order while allowing the bail plea of the accused in a case registered at Mukta Prasad Nagar police station in Bikaner under Sections 78(2) and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 11 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The Rajasthan High Court directed that the accused “is restrained from using all kinds of social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snap Chat, Thread, Share Chat etc. for a period of one year”.

It further warned that if the accused was found using any social media platform during the one-year period, “either in his name or in any fictitious name using his mobile/E-mail ID or a fictitious E-mail ID then the bail order shall be recalled.”

The order also restrained the accused from contacting the victim or her family members directly or indirectly through any communication medium, including Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat or WhatsApp.

According to the prosecution, the FIR was lodged on February 22 by the father of the minor victim alleging sexual harassment, stalking and cyber-related offences committed by the accused between February 1 and February 20.

The petitioner was arrested on February 24, and a chargesheet has since been filed under relevant provisions of the BNS and POCSO Act.

During the hearing, counsel for the accused submitted that the allegations were false and contended that except for oral allegations, no material had been produced by the complainant to substantiate the accusations mentioned in the FIR.

It was also argued that the investigation was complete, the accused was no longer required for custodial interrogation and there was no likelihood of him absconding.

It was further submitted that the accused had remained in custody for a considerable period and that trial in the matter was likely to take time.