IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 10TH DAY OF JULY 2019 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE S. SUNIL DUTT YADAV CRIMINAL PETITION No.4072/2019 Between:
Naveen Kumar @ Naveen Sagar, S/o Raghupathi, Aged about 43 years, Residing at No.1449, 1 Floor, 5th ‘A’ Main, ‘D’ Block, Rajajinagar II Stage, Bangalore – 560 010. … Petitioner (By Sri Arun Shyam M., Advocate) And:
State of Karnataka by Cyber Crime Police Station, Bangalore, (Represented by Learned State Public Prosecutor, High Court of Karnataka, Bengaluru – 560 001). … Respondent (By Sri S. Rachaiah, HCGP) This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 438 of the Cr.P.C., praying to enlarge the petitioner on bail in the event of his arrest in Cr. No.3302/2019 of Cyber Crime Police, Bengaluru for the offences p/u/s 354D and 509 of IPC and Section 67 of Information Technology Act.
This Criminal Petition coming on for Orders this day, the Court, made the following:
ORDER The petitioner is seeking to be enlarged on bail in the event of his arrest pursuant to the proceedings in Crime No.3302/2019 for the offences punishable under Sections 354(D) and 509 of IPC and Section 67 of Information Technology Act, 2000 registered by the Cyber Crime Police.
2. The complaint that has been lodged relates to the alleged action of the petitioner in putting up the post in his face book which is stated to be derogatory and defamatory and contains objectionable language. The FIR has been lodged and investigation is in progress.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner states that the proof of alleged act of posting on the face book of certain comments is a matter to be proved and that even evidence is available on the electronic medium which can be secured. It is submitted that the question of custodial interrogation would not arise.
4. It is further submitted that the petitioner is a Journalist and the post in the face book is only as a reaction to the earlier post regarding Prime Minister of India. It is also submitted that the petitioner would ensure that no abusive language is used in any of the face book posts by the petitioner.
5. The learned High Court Government Pleader appearing for the respondent-State opposes grant of anticipatory bail and states that on a prima facie perusal of the comment attributed to the petitioner would reveal the use of objectionable language and further states that a responsible Journalist ought to exercise due restraint in exercise of right of Freedom of Speech.
6. The question of investigation with respect to the present offence as made out is based primarily on the material on the face book. The evidence is available on the electronic medium and custodial interrogation of the petitioner as such may not be required.
7. In light of the fact that the offence as such is triable by the Magistrate and also the evidence with respect to the offence alleged can be gathered by the Investigating Officer and is available in the public domain, no case is made out as such for custodial interrogation. The proof of the offence is a matter for trial and the present proceedings cannot be construed to be punitive. Hence, the petitioner is entitled to be enlarged on bail.
8. In the result, the bail petition filed by the petitioner under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. is allowed and the petitioner is enlarged on bail in the event of his arrest in Crime No.3302/2019 for the offences punishable under Sections 354(D) and 509 of IPC and Section 67 of Information Technology Act, 2000, subject to the following conditions:-
(i) The petitioner shall appear in person before the Investigating Officer in connection with Crime No.3302/2019 within 15 days from the date of release of the order and shall execute a personal bond for a sum of `1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh only) with a surety for the likesum to the satisfaction of the Investigating Officer.
(ii) The petitioner shall not tamper with evidence, influence in any way, any witness.
(iii) The petitioner shall fully co-operate with the Investigating Officer and shall not indulge in any criminal activities of like nature.
(iv) The petitioner shall physically present himself and mark his attendance before the concerned Station House Officer once in a week between 10.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m., till filing of the final report.
(v) In the event of change of address, the petitioner to inform the same to the concerned SHO.
(vi) Any violation of the aforementioned conditions by the petitioner, shall result in cancellation of bail.
9. In light of disposal of the main matter, I.A.No.1/2019 filed seeking interim bail does not survive for consideration and is accordingly disposed of as requiring no further orders.
Any observation made herein shall not be taken as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case.
Sd/- JUDGE VGR