WhatsApp group admin not liable for what members post, says Bombay HC – Times Now

Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has said that the WhatsApp group administrators cannot be held liable for what the members of the groups post unless it is proved that there was a common intention or pre-arranged plan between them.

“In the absence of specific penal provision creating vicarious liability, the administrator can’t be held liable for objectionable content posted by a member. Common intention can’t be established in the case of WhatsApp service users merely acting as an administrator,” a division bench of Justices Zaka Haq and Amir Borkar held, as reported by the Times Of India.

The bench held the same while also quashing a police complaint against a Gondia man for alleged sexual harassment under Section 354-A(1)(iv) along with Sections 509 and 107 of IPC and Section 67 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000.

The bench further observed that the WhatsApp group administrator does not have the power to censor, moderate or regulate the content that is shared in the groups. The court said,  “The administrators are the ones who create the group by adding/deleting the members. Every group has one or more administrators, who control members’ participation. A group administrator has limited power of removing/adding the members. Once the group is created, the administrators’ and members’ functions are at par with each other, except addition/deletion powers. But, if a member posts any objectionable content, s/he can be held liable under relevant provisions of law.”