BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 05.01.2026 CORAM THE HONOURABLE MRS.JUSTICE L.VICTORIA GOWRI Crl.O.P.(MD).Nos.21332 of 2025 and Crl.M.P.(MD)No.18307 of 2025

1. Mohankumar @ Mohanakumar

2. Satheesh @ Satheesh Kumar ... Petitioners Vs.

1. The State of Tamil Nadu, Rep . by The Inspector of Police, Thuckalay Police Station, Thuckalay, Kanyakumari District.

Crime No.638/2020

2. Gnana Reji ... Respondents Prayer : Criminal Original Petition is filed under Section 528 of BNSS, 2023, to call for the records relating to the C.C.No.175/2023 on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate Court No.I, Padmanabhapuram, Kanyakumari District and quash the same as illegal in so far as petitioners are concerned.

For Petitioners : Mr.K.Prabu For R-1 : Mr.S.Ravi, Additional Public Prosecutor

ORDER

Preface:

The present Criminal Original Petition has been filed invoking the inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking quashment of the criminal proceedings in C.C.No.175 of 2023, on the ground that the prosecution is legally unsustainable, actuated by mala fides, and amounts to abuse of the process of law.

Case of the prosecution:

2. The case of the prosecution is that the second respondent /

defacto complainant, namely Gnana Reji, who is working as a Head Constable in SPCID, Thuckalay Police Station, lodged a complaint on 24.05.2020 alleging that the petitioners herein, with previous animosity and ulterior motive, circulated a WhatsApp message containing false and defamatory information with an intention to defame him.

3. Based on the said complaint, the first respondent police registered a case in Crime No.638 of 2020 for the offences punishable under Section 505(1)(a) of the Indian Penal Code, Section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. After completion of investigation, a final report was filed and the learned Judicial Magistrate Court No.I, Padmanabhapuram, Kanyakumari District, took cognizance of the same in C.C.No.175 of 2023, which is the subject matter of challenge in this petition. Case of the petitioners:

4. The petitioners submit that the first petitioner is a Police Constable attached to Kanniyakumari Police Station and the second petitioner is a former Scout Master of the Boys and Girls Club, Thuckalay. It is contended that there existed prior enmity between the petitioners and the defacto complainant, resulting in a prolonged “cold war”.

5. According to the petitioners, on 17.05.2020, one Saranya from Thuckalay was tested COVID-19 positive and admitted to Kanyakumari Medical College. At the time of her transportation, the defacto complainant, along with another individual, allegedly took photographs of her and circulated the same on social media, thereby causing personal harassment and public humiliation. The said Saranya is stated to have lodged an online complaint, pursuant to which CSR No.349 of 2020 dated 20.05.2020 came to be issued by the first respondent police.

6. It is the further case of the petitioners that, in order to evade legal consequences arising out of the said incident, the defacto complainant lodged a false complaint against them alleging circulation of WhatsApp messages, though the petitioners were neither the creators nor the originators of the content and had merely forwarded the information highlighting the misconduct of the defacto complainant. Grounds for quash:

7. The petitioners have raised several grounds, inter alia, contending that:

(a) there are no specific allegations or overt acts attributed to the petitioners in the charge sheet;

(b) the essential ingredients of Section 505(1)(a) IPC / Section

353 BNS are not made out;

(c) mandatory prior sanction from the competent Government has not been obtained;

(d) Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 is not attracted as the alleged content is not obscene;

(e) the prosecution is manifestly attended with mala fides and amounts