Unfortunate That Person Threatening Victim With 'Perverted' Messages Has To Be Charged With Bailable Offences: MP HC Flags Legislative Lacuna

The Madhya Pradesh High Court, while granting anticipatory bail to a man accused of sending threatening messages to a woman, expressed concerns over the legislative framework that charges the act of sending 'such depraved or perverted messages on social media' under the offences which are bailable in nature.The bench of Justice Subodh Abhiyankar observed; "It is rather unfortunate that the person, who has threatened the victim by sending such depraved or perverted messages on social media, is still charged under the offences which are bailable in nature, as no specific category of such offences has been made by the Legislature in its wisdom to discourage such defiant offenders, and the victims of such offences who are women only and mostly young girls, are often left with nothing but a sense of foreboding, with no protection from the State or the Courts". The court made such observations in an anticipatory bail application arising from an FIR registered for Stalking [Section 78 (1)(ii) and (2)] and Criminal Intimidation [Section 351(2)] of the BNS, 2023. According to the prosecution, the applicant/accused and the complainant/victim were engaged 6 years ago, but the engagement was later called off. It was alleged that following the breakup, the accused began harassing the victim 'by posting undesirable posts on Instagram'. The threatening parts of the messages sent to the victim were as follows;"Even if you get married, I will ruin your marriage. This is my promise to you and I am firm on my promise. I want you to file a case against me.""You think that you will be able to live peacefully after leaving me, this is not possible. Hey, I will have to go to jail only, I will go for 10 days maximum, then what... and I will not let you get married, no matter what consequences I have to face."The victim claimed that she tried to get married to someone else, but the threatening message of the accused led to the cancellation of that engagement as well. The victim, in her statements under section 183 of BNSS, also claimed that she stopped attending her college due to the threatening nature of these messages. The counsel appearing for the accused argued that the trial court erred in rejecting the bail application, since the accused was charged under a bailable offence. The court observed that the "tenor of the applicant's messages clearly demonstrates that he had threatened the victim of serious consequence for which he is also prepared to face any extreme consequences".The bench further observed that the threats extended to the possibility of grave physical injury or death. The court further took note of the victim's statement under section 183 of BNSS. The court further noted that the trial court had dismissed the bail application on merits without considering the bailable nature of the offence. Thus, the high court directed the police 'to release the applicant in the event of his arrest'. However, the court prohibited the accused from contacting the complainant. Accordingly, the court allowed the application.Case Title: Laxmikant v State of Madhya Pradesh (MCRC-32524-2025)Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (MP) 176For Applicant: Advocate Syed Asif Ali WarsiFor State: Government Advocate Apoorv JoshiClick here to read the Order

Unfortunate That Person Threatening Victim With 'Perverted' Messages Has To Be Charged With Bailable Offences: MP HC Flags Legislative Lacuna

Jayanti Pahwa

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