The Delhi High Court has said that agreeing to have sex does not mean that someone can take private videos or share them on social media without permission. This decision was made while the court was refusing to grant bail to a man who is accused of taking and posting private videos of a woman without her consent.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma made this ruling on January 17. The man is accused of taking inappropriate videos of the woman during their sexual relationship and sharing them online without her approval.
The court said, "Even if the consent for sexual relations had been given at any point in time by the complainant, such consent cannot, in any manner, be construed as consent to capture and post her inappropriate videos on social media platforms. Consent to engage in physical relations does not extend to the misuse or exploitation of a person's private moments or their depiction in an inappropriate and derogatory manner."
Allegations of blackmail and manipulation
In this case, the accused claimed that their relationship had been a "long, friendly relationship" that turned sour when the woman failed to repay a loan he had given her. However, the court found the accused’s actions to be rooted in coercion and blackmail.
The court clarified, "While the first sexual encounter may have been consensual, the subsequent ones were allegedly based on blackmail, with the accused taking advantage of the videos to exert control over the complainant."
The accused is said to have used the videos to sexually exploit and manipulate the woman. The court stated that his actions showed a clear pattern of abuse and exploitation. "The accused's actions in preparing the videos and using them to manipulate and sexually exploit the complainant prima facie reflect a strategy of abuse and exploitation, transcending any initial consensual interaction," the court noted.
Court denies plea to diminish allegations
The court rejected the accused’s argument that the woman was mature enough to understand her actions since she was married. It also found his attempt to use her marital status and job to downplay the seriousness of the charges "unacceptable.".
"The mere fact that the complainant worked in a massage parlour could not be used to diminish the seriousness of the alleged offences committed against her when there was no evidence of her engaging in illicit or unlawful activities," said the court.
The woman said that the accused convinced her to take a loan of Rs 3.5 lakh to help her join a course. After that, he started blackmailing her, saying he would share videos of their sexual encounters unless she did what he wanted.
By the end of 2023, the accused went to Delhi, showed her a disturbing video on his phone, and forced her to have sex with him for two days while threatening to post the videos online. In the end, he shared the videos on social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram.