The Bombay High Court recently quashed the First Information Report (FIR) and legal proceedings against 64-year-old retired professor Kailash Hanumandas Chandak, who was accused of sending an obscene and objectionable WhatsApp message to a former colleague.

A division bench comprising Justice Sarang V. Kotwal and Justice S.M. Modak ruled in favor of Chandak, highlighting that he suffers from a mental imbalance and that continuing the prosecution would serve no purpose.

The complainant and the petitioner were former colleagues at a reputed college in South Mumbai. On December 12, 2022, the complainant received an inappropriate WhatsApp message from Chandak, following which she filed an FIR at Malabar Hill Police Station under Section 354-D (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 (transmitting obscene material electronically) of the Information Technology Act. The case was subsequently registered before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Girgaum.

Chandak approached the High Court seeking to quash the FIR, citing his deteriorating mental health. He presented a medical report from a psychologist diagnosing him with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), a condition that affects judgment and social behavior. His brother and a close friend petitioned the court on his behalf, arguing that the message was sent unintentionally due to his medical condition.

Upon learning of Chandak’s mental health condition, the complainant filed an affidavit stating that she had been unaware of his illness when she lodged the FIR. Acknowledging his medical condition, she expressed no objection to the quashing of proceedings.

The High Court noted that the complainant had accepted that the message was sent unintentionally when Chandak was not in a fit state of mind. Given this acknowledgment, the bench ruled that it would be in the interest of justice to quash the case.

“It is a fact accepted by Respondent No.1 that the message was sent unintentionally when the Petitioner was not in a fit state of mind. In this background, the Respondent No.1 has given her consent to quash the proceedings.”

Accordingly, the court allowed the petition and quashed the FIR and related proceedings.

Case Details:

Cause Title: Kailash Chandak vs. State of Maharashtra (Writ Petition 1419 of 2025)
Legal Representation:

• Advocate Sanjay Bhatia appeared for the petitioner.

• Advocate Neha Kamble represented the complainant.

• Additional Public Prosecutor BV Holambe-Patil appeared for the State.