P&H High Court Quashes FIR Over Mocking WhatsApp Posts, Says Not ‘Obscene’ Under IPC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently quashed an FIR against a Gurugram man for posting mocking messages in a society WhatsApp group.

The Court ruled that while the words were "not in good taste" and were humiliating, they did not qualify as "obscene" under Section 294 of the IPC because they lacked sexual undertones and did not arouse sexually impure thoughts.

The Presiding Judge, Justice Shalini Singh Nagpal clarified that a WhatsApp group functions as a public place since it can be accessed and read by all the members of the group.

She further clarified that criminal law cannot be stretched to punish every offensive or humorous remark.