‘No criminal force’: Karnataka High Court quashes sexual harassment case over video calls

In her complaint lodged with the police in June 2022, the 26-year-old woman alleged that she had come in contact with the accused through social media and subsequently, both were in love and became intimate. Later, when she insisted on his marrying her, the accused allegedly abused her with filthy language. She also alleged that the man had demanded and taken Rs 2,000 from her when she had asked him to delete her photos.

Following the investigation, the police filed a chargesheet against the accused for offences punishable under Section 354(A)(2) [sexual harassment] and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The accused moved the High Court seeking to quash the proceedings, primarily on the grounds of a significant lack of physical or digital evidence. His counsel argued that the police had failed to seize the mobile phones of either party, secure the call detail records (CDR) or WhatsApp chat logs, or recover the allegedly obscene photos or videos mentioned in the chargesheet.

In the order, Justice Rai noted that “admittedly, no criminal force” was used by the petitioner. The court also found that the investigators failed to recover the digital devices or their logs.

“Without which, the complaint averments cannot be proved in a trial,” the bench noted.

Allowing the petition, the court held, “In such circumstances, in my considered view, continuation of proceedings against the petitioner/accused amounts to abuse of process of court.”