The Crossbill Team
The Allahabad High Court has held that merely "liking" a social media post does not amount to publishing or transmitting it, and therefore cannot be considered an offence under Section 67 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, which pertains to the transmission of obscene material in electronic form.
Justice Saurabh Srivastava made the observation while quashing criminal proceedings against petitioner Imran Khan, who had been accused of inciting unlawful assembly through social media. The judgment was delivered on April 17 and reported by The Times of India.
The court clarified that for an online message or post to be considered "published," it must be actively posted by the user. Similarly, a message is "transmitted" when it is shared or retweeted — not merely liked.
“In the present case, it is alleged that there is material in the case diary showing that the applicant has liked the post of one Farhan Usman for unlawful assembly, but liking a post will not amount to publishing or transmitting the post, therefore, merely liking a post will not attract Section 67 IT Act," the court noted, reported Live Law.
The case against Khan stemmed from allegations that his social media activity contributed to the gathering of 600–700 individuals from the Muslim community for a procession that had not received official permission. However, the court found that Khan had not posted or shared any objectionable content himself, nor was there any obscene material found on his Facebook or WhatsApp accounts.
The court further pointed out that Section 67 of the IT Act is specifically meant to address the publication or transmission of obscene content — defined as "lascivious" or appealing to the "prurient interest" — and not material that may be deemed provocative or inflammatory in nature.
"Even otherwise, Section 67 of the IT Act is for obscene material and not for provocative material. The words ‘lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest’ mean relating to sexual interest and desire, therefore, Section 67 IT Act does not prescribe any punishment for other provocative material," the court stated, reported TOI.
This ruling is likely to have a broader impact on how online interactions — especially passive actions like likes — are interpreted in legal proceedings under the IT Act.
Justice Saurabh Srivastava made the observation while quashing criminal proceedings against petitioner Imran Khan, who had been accused of inciting unlawful assembly through social media. The judgment was delivered on April 17 and reported by The Times of India.
The court clarified that for an online message or post to be considered "published," it must be actively posted by the user. Similarly, a message is "transmitted" when it is shared or retweeted — not merely liked.
“In the present case, it is alleged that there is material in the case diary showing that the applicant has liked the post of one Farhan Usman for unlawful assembly, but liking a post will not amount to publishing or transmitting the post, therefore, merely liking a post will not attract Section 67 IT Act," the court noted, reported Live Law.
The case against Khan stemmed from allegations that his social media activity contributed to the gathering of 600–700 individuals from the Muslim community for a procession that had not received official permission. However, the court found that Khan had not posted or shared any objectionable content himself, nor was there any obscene material found on his Facebook or WhatsApp accounts.
The court further pointed out that Section 67 of the IT Act is specifically meant to address the publication or transmission of obscene content — defined as "lascivious" or appealing to the "prurient interest" — and not material that may be deemed provocative or inflammatory in nature.
"Even otherwise, Section 67 of the IT Act is for obscene material and not for provocative material. The words ‘lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest’ mean relating to sexual interest and desire, therefore, Section 67 IT Act does not prescribe any punishment for other provocative material," the court stated, reported TOI.
This ruling is likely to have a broader impact on how online interactions — especially passive actions like likes — are interpreted in legal proceedings under the IT Act.
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