Whatsapp Admin Not Responsible For Hate-Filled Posts On Groups: Kerala HC

On Wednesday, the Kerala High Court passed a judgment stating that admins of a Whatsapp group are not liable for hate messages sent by its members. Citing the absence of vicarious liability, the judge noted that a statute has to prescribe the same for the act to be a crime. The case was filed against an admin of a Whatsapp group called 'FRIENDS' under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act.

For the unversed, vicarious liability is defined as one party held for the irresponsible actions of a third party, even when they are not present. In the case mentioned above, the admin involved was to be tried on the lines of a 'master servant' or 'principal agent' relationship between the admin and the group members.

Members Shared Obscene Pictures

As reported by The Indian Express, a 22-year-old man named Manual from Kerala's Alappuzha district created the group on the popular chat application. One of the members shared a video of children engaging in sexually explicit activities in March 2020. A case was registered in June 2020 by the Ernakulam City Police against the person involved, including the admin who became the second accused.

After hearing it in the Additional Sessions Court in the city, Manual moved to the Kerala High Court to challenge the verdict that rendered him guilty for merely handling the group. The bench headed by Justice Kauser Edappagath looked into the matter. "There is no master-servant or principal-agent relationship between the admin of a Whatsapp group and its members. The only privilege enjoyed by the admin over other group members is that he can either add or delete any of the members. He does not have physical or any other control over what a member will post on the group," said the judgment, further adding that they do not have censorship powers.

In the case of vicarious liability, Justice Edappagath observed that this could be defined only in the presence of the specific penal law for the same. "There is no law by which an admin of any messaging service can be held liable for a post made on the group. A Whatsapp group cannot be an intermediary under the IT Act," quoted The Quint. Therefore, such liability only arises when a legal relationship is ascertained between the concerned parties.

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