Recently, a JMFC Court, Chandigarh, granted bail to an Advocate arrested in a case involving an alleged Rs 1.5 crore extortion attempt linked to a morphed and objectionable video circulated on WhatsApp, more than two weeks after an Additional Sessions Judge reported the incident.

A case was registered on the complaint of an Additional Sessions Judge, who alleged that he received calls from unknown numbers on February 18 and was asked to check his WhatsApp.

The accused, a practising advocate based in Rohtak, was arrested on April 11, along with a co-accused.

According to the prosecution, mobile phones recovered from the accused included one device allegedly used in the commission of the offence and another in which the disputed video was found. The police relied on call detail records, Internet Protocol detail records and SIM ownership details to link the accused to the alleged acts.

Prosecution submitted that the accused had played an active role in blackmailing the judicial officer and demanding money, and argued that his release could hamper the ongoing investigation.

Counsel for the accused, Advocate Pardhuman Garg, argued that the accused had been falsely implicated and that his name had surfaced only through a co-accused’s disclosure statement. Garg contended that there was no direct evidence of any payment or recovery, and that the case rested entirely on digital evidence already in the police's possession.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Ajay stated that the delivery of property by the victim, who is in fear, is a must in order to constitute the offence of extortion; if there is no such delivery, then no offence of extortion would be made out.

The court stated that if the prosecution’s assertions are taken at face value, it appears that the complainant was threatened that his reputation would be maligned by the accused by circulating objectionable videos if the complainant did not pay Rs 1.5 crore to the accused.

The court stated that at this stage, no offence of extortion is attracted under Section 308(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The accused was granted bail on furnishing bonds of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount.

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