Blasphemy case: WhatsApp group admins, members not liable for posts shared by others, rules LHC
Key takeaways
- The complainant preserved screenshots of the posts and filed a complaint with the FIA Cyber Crime Wing in Lahore, leading to the registration of Inquiry No. 940/2024 on April 4, 2024.
- The petitioner’s counsel, Usman Bhatti, argued that his client had been falsely implicated and that the prosecution had failed to establish that he was either the creator or administrator of the WhatsApp groups.
- Opposing the bail plea, Assistant Attorney General Muhammad Nasim Saqlain argued that the allegations were not based merely on the petitioner’s membership of the WhatsApp groups.
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
Add ARY News on Google AAResize LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has issued important legal guidelines on criminal liability in cases involving blasphemous content shared in Whats App groups, ruling that group administrators and members cannot automatically be held responsible for posts made by other participants.
Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh made the observations while dismissing the post-arrest bail petition of Syed Abdul Mannan in a case registered by the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing under Sections 295-A, 295-B, 295-C, 298-A and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), as well as Section 11 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016.
According to the prosecution, the complainant was added to two WhatsApp groups where several members allegedly shared blasphemous and sacrilegious material.