Rajasthan High Court: In a bail application filed by the 19-year-old accused seeking bail for offences under Sections 78(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (‘BNS’), and Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act (‘’IT Act), a Single-Judge Bench of Ashok Kumar Jain, J., granted bail to the accused observing that the accused was 19-year -old 2nd year college student with no criminal antecedent. Further, the Court imposed strict conditions including the 3-year social media ban for the accused on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat or like platform in any form either in his own or fictitious name.
Background
On 21-02-2025, a 23-year-old victim filed a report alleging that the accused had edited and published her photos and videos and was exploiting and blackmailing her. Based on this a criminal case was registered against accused and after investigation, charge sheet was filed under Sections 78(2) of BNS and Sections 67 and 67A of IT Act. The material submitted by the victim indicated that the accused used different mobile phones and different IDs on Instagram for publishing sexually explicit material against her to harm her image and reputation. First bail application of the accused was dismissed as withdrawn on 11-08-2025 with liberty to file after recording statement of victim. The present bail application is the second such application filed by the accused.
Analysis and Decision
The Court upon perusal of the material on record noted that a charge sheet had been filed against the accused and statement of the victim has already been recorded. The accused has been in custody since 01-05-2025. The accused was aged 19-years with no criminal antecedent.
The Court observed that considering the future of present accused, it was inclined to consider present bail subject to certain stringent conditions so that safety and well-being of victim including marital life may not be jeopardized due to notorious and whimsical acts of the accused. The Court observed that if the accused indulges in any of the act to cause any harm to victim or her family, this order will be recalled immediately.
Further, the accused is no more required in the investigation, and he is in custody for quite some time. The further proceedings will take its own time, therefore, looking to entirety of facts and circumstances of the case and without expressing any opinion on merits of the case, the Court deemed it appropriate to grant bail to the applicant accused.
The Court ordered the accused to be released on bail after furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 50,000 with two sureties of a like amount to the satisfaction of the Trial Court with the following conditions:
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The accused shall not tamper with evidence or influence any witness.
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The accused shall not contact the victim or any of her family members, directly or indirectly.
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The accused must submit an affidavit that he is not in possession of any photograph or video of the victim or her family, and that if he is, it will be deleted and destroyed permanently before his release.
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The accused shall not use any social media platform, including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, X, or others, for a period of three years, either in his name or in any fictitious name.
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The accused shall not share any message on WhatsApp, Telegram, or any other messaging platform concerning the victim or her family.
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The accused shall not engage in any criminal activity.
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The accused shall attend the court hearings as and when required.
[Akash v. State of Rajasthan, S.B. Criminal 2nd Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 11755/2025, decided on 16-09-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the Petitioner: Girish Khandelwal Advocate
For the Respondent: Arvind Balaut, Aarti Sharma, PP
