MP High Court Closes Habeas Corpus Pleas Over Detention Of Three Accused Of Circulating AI-Video In Congress-Affiliated WhatsApp Groups

The Madhya Pradesh High Court closed a bunch of habeas corpus petitions which alleged that three men were illegally detained by Police and later handed over to Rajasthan Police over allegations of circulating AI-manipulated video, misusing a news channel's identity on Congress affiliated WhatsApp groups. [2026 LiveLaw (MP) 282]For context, the Rajasthan Police claimed that a complaint was lodged by crime reporter of a news channel regarding an AI manipulated video misusing the channel's identity. The investigation, through a chain of WhatsApp forwards traced across several mobile numbers and individuals in Bikaner, led to the involvement of Bilal Khan and Inam Ahmed–residents of Bhopal, and their subsequent identification along with Nikhil Prajapati as having first put the video into circulation on Congress affiliated WhatsApp groups.A team of Jaipur Police reached Bhopal on 21.04.2026, located the three suspects with the assistance of the Bhopal Crime Branch, obtained their attendance for investigation with the consent of their family members through written notices, and brought them to Police Station Jyoti Nagar, Jaipur on 22.04.2026. Upon completion of interrogation and on the basis of material and admissions that emerged, all three were formally arrested on the same day, information of the arrests was conveyed to their respective family members over telephone and thereafter by email to the local police stations and control rooms concerned, and they were produced before the jurisdictional Magistrate. The petitioners were subsequently granted bail. The habeas corpus pleas were meanwhile filed by the family of the three men, before the high court seeking their production, contending that they were taken into illegal custody by Cyber Crime Cell in Bhopal on April 19. The petitions contended that the grounds for detention were not disclosed and that the men were arrested without any arrest memo. The petitions also claimed that the men were handed over to Rajasthan Police without formal arrest, transit remand or compliance with statutory safeguards, thus violating Article 21 and 22 of the Constitution, protection of life and liberty and protection against arrest and detentions.Holding that the habeas corpus writ has achieved its limited objective of testing the detention's legality, the bench of Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal observed that there were two distinct threads in the matter. One pertained to the conduct of the Bhopal Police between the night of 19.04.2026 and the afternoon of 21.04.2026. The second concerned the action of the Rajasthan Police, which, on the material placed before the Court, disclosed that the three persons were formally arrested only on 22.04.2026 at Jaipur, were thereafter produced before the jurisdictional Magistrate, were remanded to custody in due course, and have since been enlarged on bail.Finding that the purpose of habeas corpus had been achieved the court said:"This Court finds that the corpus, namely Bilal Khan, Nikhil Prajapati alias Atul Prajapati and Inam Ahmed, stand produced before this Court in the course of these proceedings, were thereafter found to have been formally arrested at Jaipur pursuant to registration of Case No.100/2026, were produced before the jurisdictional Magistrate and remanded to custody in accordance with law, and have since been released on bail. The object of the writ of Habeas Corpus, namely production and release of the corpus from illegal custody, therefore stands substantially achieved, and no useful purpose would be served by keeping these petitions pending any further on that score".The court had earlier impleaded the State of Rajasthan, directed production of the corpus, report from the Police Commissioner of Bhopal and production of CCTV footage of the Police Transport Research Institute. On April 26, 2026, the court was informed that the corpus was already remanded to judicial custody in Jaipur and could not be produced. Therefore, the court directed the Rajasthan Police to produce the corpus on the next date, along with an officer conversant with the facts and all relevant documents, and further directed the MP State to produce the CCTV footage after reconciling the discrepancy in its time stamp. After noting inconsistencies in the detainee's version and that of the Rajasthan Police, the court had on May 12 directed the magistrate court to record the statements of the three corpus. Examining the statements submitted in sealed cover, the bench had noted the case to be prima facie a case of illegal detention and thus directed the Police Commission of Bhopal to register a complaint and take appropriate action. The court had earlier noted that the Commissioner's report showed that men were handed over to the Rajasthan Police in the presence of their family members and that notices could not be issued as the family members were out of station. The report stated that the case for illegal detention could...

MP High Court Closes Habeas Corpus Pleas Over Detention Of Three Accused Of Circulating AI-Video In Congress-Affiliated WhatsApp Groups

Jayanti Pahwa

Court noted detainees were granted bail.

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Jayanti Pahwa

MP High Court Closes Habeas Corpus Pleas Over Detention Of Three Accused Of Circulating AI-Video In Congress-Affiliated WhatsApp Groups

Jayanti Pahwa

Court noted detainees were granted bail.

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INR 1099+GST

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Jayanti Pahwa

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