On June 15, 2026, the Karnataka Police top brass issued a strict, statewide standing order mandating that local police stations register First Information Reports (FIRs) immediately for cases involving the unauthorized sharing of private and intimate photos or videos. For years, victims facing digital blackmail, sextortion, and revenge pornography were turned away by frontline officers who wrongly claimed that a victim’s original consent to record a file meant they consented to its distribution. To fix this, Director-General and Inspector-General of Police (DG & IGP) M.A. Saleem clarified that consent to record is not a licence to share.
While victims and privacy advocates have welcomed this move to protect digital dignity, police personnel have been warned that any future delays or refusals will trigger immediate disciplinary action. In the latest development, stations are now ordered to issue swift content-takedown notices to online platforms while processing these complaints without delay.
Overturning the “Prior Consent” Excuse
The internet has created immense opportunities for connection, but it has also given rise to malicious digital weapons like sextortion and online abuse. Until recently, when victims approached their local police stations to report that their private media had been leaked, they routinely faced administrative roadblocks and victim-blaming. Officers frequently refused to file complaints if the victim had voluntarily allowed the photograph or video to be taken in the first place, which frequently occurs during a past relationship.
The Karnataka Police department’s new circular directly dismantles this toxic administrative barrier. By establishing a clear legal boundary, the top leadership has explicitly stated that criminal liability stems from the act of sharing content without permission, completely separate from how that media was originally filmed or photographed.
The Legal Framework under the BNS and IT Act
To ensure rigorous prosecution, the guidelines instruct investigating officers to apply strict, overlapping sections of the newly established Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, alongside the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. For cases involving women victims, officers must invoke Section 77 of the BNS, which deals with voyeurism. This section makes it a severe crime to capture or distribute images of a person engaging in a private act without explicit permission, penalising first-time offenders with one to three years of imprisonment, and repeat offenders with up to seven years.
To safeguard all citizens equally, the directive relies on the gender-neutral provisions of the IT Act, specifically Section 66E for privacy violations, and Sections 67 and 67A for publishing sexually explicit material. These provisions carry penalties of up to seven years in prison and apply universally, regardless of the victim’s gender. Furthermore, in scenarios where perpetrators use intimate media as leverage to demand money, physical favours, or compliance, police will aggressively append criminal intimidation and extortion charges under the BNS to the core cybercrime offences.
Administrative Mandates for Victim Safety
The directive also implements several immediate, practical steps to prioritize victim welfare and preserve digital evidence. If an incident occurred outside a station’s local area, officers must file a “Zero FIR” immediately and transfer it later, ensuring no victim is turned away due to a lack of local jurisdiction. Officers must also promptly issue formal notices to social media platforms and internet intermediaries under the IT Rules, 2021, to block or remove the explicit content before it spreads further.
To ensure an empathetic environment, the identities of all complainants must be kept strictly confidential, and complaints from women should be recorded by women officers in a supportive setting. Additionally, local desks must collaborate immediately with local Cyber Crime Police Stations and the CID Cyber Division to track digital footprints and secure electronic evidence effectively.
Strict Internal Accountability
Recognizing that policy change only succeeds with proper enforcement, the police leadership has made it clear that institutional apathy will no longer be tolerated. The standing order warns that any officer who delays or refuses to register an FIR by wrongly citing “prior consent” or jurisdictional boundaries will face swift departmental and disciplinary action.
By establishing an ironclad, standardized response, Karnataka has set a progressive benchmark for how modern law enforcement must evolve to protect citizens from digital harm.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
This landmark directive from the Karnataka Police is a deeply welcome victory for individual dignity and digital safety. For too long, the law enforcement machinery failed to understand the nuances of digital privacy, resulting in traumatized victims being shamed by the very people meant to protect them. True societal harmony and coexistence can only thrive when our institutional frameworks treat citizens with empathy and kindness rather than suspicion.
By explicitly separating the consent to record from the consent to share, this policy validates the trauma of survivors and takes a firm stance against online extortion. However, structural change requires more than just papers and warnings; it demands continuous empathy-driven training for frontline officers so that every police station transforms into a safe space for those seeking justice.
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