Daijiworld Media Network - Prayagraj

Prayagraj, Apr 21: In a significant ruling on the use of social media and freedom of expression, the Allahabad High Court has observed that merely ‘liking’ a post on social media does not amount to publishing or transmitting it, and hence cannot attract Section 67 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, which deals with obscene content.

The judgment was delivered by Justice Saurabh Srivastava while quashing criminal proceedings against Imran Khan, a resident of Agra, who was booked for allegedly liking a provocative post on Facebook related to a public protest.

"Merely liking a message will not attract penalty under Section 67 of the IT Act or any other criminal offence," the court noted in its order passed on Thursday. "There is no message on record that could be termed provocative in nature."

The case had been filed after Khan liked a Facebook post by one Chaudhari Farhan Usman, which referred to a protest gathering near the collectorate in Agra to submit a memorandum to the President of India. Police claimed that Khan’s social media activity led to the assembly of 600-700 people from the Muslim community without official permission.

However, the court clarified that Section 67 specifically deals with obscene or sexually explicit material and not content that is merely provocative. “The words ‘lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest’ relate to sexual content. Section 67 does not prescribe any punishment for provocative material,” the judge said.

Khan’s counsel argued that no such post was available on his Facebook profile. Although police claimed the content was deleted, the court found no objectionable material on his Facebook or WhatsApp accounts and concluded that Khan had merely liked another person's post.

The case was brought before the court under Section 482 of the CrPC, seeking quashing of the FIR.

“This order provides clarity on the interpretation of online engagement, such as ‘likes’, which by themselves do not amount to publication or transmission under the IT Act,” legal experts said.

The verdict is expected to set a precedent in the context of social media cases, especially when users are targeted for engaging with content without directly creating or sharing it.