The Allahabad High Court has dismissed the case against an individual who was charged with posting inflammatory messages on social media and encouraging a gathering of around 600-700 people. The court's decision was based on a lack of sufficient evidence to support the charges, resulting in the cancellation of the FIR against the applicant.

The applicant was accused of spreading incendiary messages on social media. These messages resulted in the assembly of around 600-700 individuals from the Muslim community who conducted an unauthorized procession, thereby posing a significant risk to public peace.

The applicant submitted a petition seeking the cancellation of multiple legal actions taken against them, which encompassed a contested charge sheet, a cognizance order, and a non-bailable warrant. These actions involved charges under Sections 147, 148, and 149 of the Indian Penal Code (I.P.C.), Section 67 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act (IT Act), 2008, and the 7th Criminal Law Amendment Act.

The applicant contended that the report from the Cyber Crime Cell, Crime Branch, Agra, stated that no objectionable content was discovered on his Facebook account.

The State's counsel, in their counter-affidavit, mentioned that although no content was found on the applicant's deleted Facebook account, the said content was accessible on WhatsApp and various other social media platforms.

The High Court reviewed Section 67 of the IT Act, which deals with the dissemination of obscene material. This section outlines that it is considered an offense when an individual publishes or transmits material that is 'lascivious, appeals to the prurient interest, or tends to deprave and corrupt persons' who may come into contact with the content. The Court emphasized that for this section to be relevant, it is imperative that the material is inherently obscene.

The Court emphasized a distinction between liking a post on social media and publishing or transmitting a message. While liking a post signifies an acknowledgment of the content, it does not equate to the act of publishing or transmitting the content itself. Therefore, the Court ruled that merely liking a post does not fall under the purview of Section 67 of the IT Act.

The Court also stressed that there was a lack of evidence indicating the presence of provocative or offensive content in the case records. Therefore, merely liking a post that encouraged an assembly did not amount to an offense.

In the absence of a specific legal precedent that directly addressed whether the act of 'liking' a post on social media should be deemed an offense, the High Court turned to the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Kaushal Kishor vs. State of U.P. and Ors. In this case, it was underscored that every Indian citizen should exercise their right to freedom of speech and expression as per Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution with a sense of conscious restraint. The Court emphasized that this fundamental right should be exercised in a manner consistent with the intentions of the framers of the Constitution.

The High Court dismissed the FIR against the applicant, citing the absence of substantial evidence linking the applicant to objectionable or offensive posts, as no such posts were discovered in his Facebook and WhatsApp accounts. Furthermore, the Court emphasized that the charges filed under Section 67 of the IT Act were not relevant to the alleged provocative material since this section pertains to obscene material, not provocative content.