High Court's big decision / Admin will not be responsible for objectionable messages in WhatsApp group

If you are also the admin of any WhatsApp group, then there is relief news for you. The Kerala High Court has said in one of its decisions that the group admin will not be responsible for any objectionable message coming in any WhatsApp group. The court gave this decision after hearing a case.

In fact, in March 2020, a video was shared in a WhatsApp group named 'Friends' which showed children involved in sexual acts. This group was also created by the petitioner and he was the admin. Apart from the petitioner, there were two other administrators, one of whom was an accused.

A case was registered against the first accused under sections 67B(a), (b) and (d) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and sections 13, 14 and 15 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act. Later, being the administrator, the petitioner was also made an accused, after which the petitioner approached the High Court.

The court said that the sole privilege that the administrator of a WhatsApp group has over other members is that he can add or remove any member from the group. A member of a WhatsApp group has no control over what is posted in the group. He cannot moderate or censor the messages of any group.

Justice Kausar Edappagath said that vicarious liability in criminal law can be fixed only if a law prescribes so and at present there is no such law in the IT Act. He said that a WhatsApp admin cannot be an intermediary under the IT Act.