Information Available In Public Domain- Calcutta High Court Stays Proceedings Against BJP Leader Amit Malviya In A Case Filed By Kolkata Police

The Calcutta High Court on Friday stayed all proceedings in a case lodged against BJP national convenor for Information and Technology Amit Malviya for "fraudulently" downloading information from Kolkata Police's website and circulating vide his Twitter handle in a bid to create unrest among different groups of officers. Accordingly, the Court imposed a stay on all proceedings for a period of 4 weeks until the end of the upcoming puja vacation.

Justice Kausik Chanda observed,

"In my, prima facie, opinion circulation of the information after downloading the same from the official website of the Kolkata Police Department does not amount to an offence since such information was displayed in public domain by the Police Department itself."

In the instant case, an FIR had been lodged by the Kolkata Police against Amit Malviya, the contents of which enumerated the following,

"The brief fact of the case is that on 10th June, 2020, one Twitter handler namely Amit Malviya having Twitter ID @amitmalviya has dishonestly and fraudulently downloaded an information of Kolkata Police Department regarding posting of police personnel in different jurisdiction and circulated it in his Twitter handle in a provocative way intending to create unrest/mutiny among different groups of officers and has used electric medium to propagate the same."

Accordingly, Malviya had been booked under Sections 153/505(a) (promoting enmity between groups) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and Section 66 read with Section 42 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Advocate Ayan Bhattacharya appearing on behalf of Malviya contended before the Court that since the petitioner is a national convenor of the Information and Technology Department of a political party rival to the ruling political party of the State, the present case had been maliciously filed against him.

The Court opined that 'a plain reading of the F.I.R'. does not disclose any ingredients of offences under Sections 153/505(a) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and Section 66 read with Section 42 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Thus, the Court proceeded to direct,

"There shall be a stay of all further proceeding in connection with GR(S) Case No. 751/2020, arising out of Cyber Police Station Case No. 44 dated 10.06.2020 under Sections 153/505(a) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and Section 66 read with Section 42 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, pending before the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Kolkata, till four weeks after the Puja vacation."

The petitioner was directed to serve a copy of the application upon the opposite parties within two weeks and file an affidavit-of-service to this effect before the next date of hearing.

The Court directed that the matter to be listed two weeks after the puja vacation for issuance of orders.

Case Title: Amit Malviya v. State of West Bengal 

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