Taking note of sexual assault cases of girls and boys who are blackmailed on the basis of their inappropriate videos or photographs, the Delhi High Court has asked the state legal services authority to educate youngsters against posting “intimate” content of others on social media without their consent.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma refused to grant bail to a young boy accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl on the threat of exposing her objectionable pictures, and said innocent, consensual teenage love relationship has to be distinguished from sexual abuse under threat, pressure, blackmailing and violence.
In the present case, the court said, the 17-year-old victim was put under the fear of social shaming on account of certain objectionable images and videos captured by the accused, aged 19 years, without her consent, and was also being threatened to get her to change her religion in order to be able to get married to him. “He (the accused) was using the sexualised photos and videos as a tool to threaten, socially shame, embarrass, defame and blackmail her to coerce her into sexual relationship,” said the court in its order passed on 11 May.
