1 2026:CGHC:19907 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRCA No. 506 of 2026 Abdul Halim S/o Atarul Islam Aged About 27 Years R/o Gopur Sarkererpara Dhanrer Kandhi District- Murshidabad, West Bengal. ... Applicant(s) versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station - City Kotwali District - Bilaspur (C.G.) ---- Non-applicant(s) For Applicant :Mr. Mateen Siddiqui, Advocate For Non-Applicant /State :Ms. Smriti Shrivastava, Panel Lawyer. Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Order On Board 29/04/2026 1. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the defect(s) pointed out by the Registry have been duly cured. 2. The applicant has preferred this application under Section 482 of BNSS for grant of anticipatory bail, apprehending his arrest in connection with Crime No.193/2024, registered at Police Station– City Kotwali, District – Bilaspur (C.G.), for the commission of offence punishable under Section 67(B) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. 3. As per the case of the prosecution, a Cyber Tip Line Report bearing No. 127954701 was received from the National Crime Records KUNAL DEWANGAN Digitally signed by KUNAL DEWANGAN 2 Bureau (NCRB), New Delhi vide letter No. PUMU/Tech Service/Cyber/C9-1/160-D/2023 dated 31.03.2023, forwarded under the Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children Scheme (CCPWC) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, regarding alleged offences relating to women and children on social media platforms, including offences of child pornography (possession, manufacture and distribution). In compliance with the directions contained in SOP-TS Cyber Tip Line/2000, a preliminary inquiry was conducted, wherein it was alleged that the suspect had uploaded obscene videos and photographs of women and children through the Facebook application from IP Address No. 2401:4900:1bc6:1814:2:1:2551:d023 on 13.06.2022 at 12:07:56 UTC. Upon technical analysis of the aforesaid IP address, the tower location at the relevant point of time was found to be situated behind Manohar Talkies, Pachri Gate, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh). Further investigation revealed that the mobile number 7384573863, which was operating on the said IP address, is registered in the name of Abdul Halim S/o Atarul Islam, resident of Gopur Sarketer Para, Dhanar Gandhi, District Murshidabad, West Bengal, PIN-742135. Since the place of occurrence falls within the territorial jurisdiction of Police Station City Kotwali, District Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), necessary directions were issued to register a First Information Report and to conduct a detailed investigation in accordance with SOP-TS Cyber Tip Line/2000, and to report the action taken to the concerned authority. On the basis of the aforesaid complaint and material collected during the inquiry, 3 offences punishable under Section 67(B) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 were registered against the present applicant vide Crime No. 193/2024 at Police Station City Kotwali, District Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh). 4. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the present applicant is an innocent person who has been falsely implicated in the alleged offences and has no connection whatsoever with the allegations levelled against him. It is further submitted that there is absolutely no material on record to demonstrate that the applicant has committed any heinous offence as alleged. The entire prosecution case rests solely upon a Cyber Tip Line report forwarded by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), New Delhi, without there being any independent or corroborative evidence to establish that the applicant himself uploaded or shared the alleged objectionable content. It is contended that mere reference to an IP address does not conclusively establish the identity of the actual user, as the same internet connection or mobile data may be accessed by multiple persons. It is further submitted that no incriminating material, including any alleged obscene videos or photographs, has been recovered from the mobile phone, computer, or any electronic device belonging to the applicant. Additionally, no verification report has been obtained from the concerned social media platform, i.e., Facebook, to establish that the account used for uploading the alleged content was owned or operated by the applicant. The applicant is a permanent resident of District Murshidabad, West Bengal, and has been implicated solely on the basis of subscriber 4 details of a mobile number, without any cogent technical or forensic evidence linking him to the alleged offence. It is also contended that there is no material to show that the applicant was physically present at the alleged location in Bilaspur at the relevant time. Furthermore, the prosecution has failed to conduct any proper digital forensic examination of the electronic devices, which is essential in cyber offence cases to establish authorship and actual usage. It is also pointed out that there is an inordinate and unexplained delay in the registration of the FIR, as the alleged incident pertains to 13.06.2022, whereas the FIR has been registered much later pursuant to the Cyber Tip Line report, thereby casting serious doubt on the authenticity of the prosecution case. Lastly, it is submitted that the applicant had no prior knowledge of the present case and came to know about the same only upon receipt of notice under Section 35(3) of the BNSS dated 14.12.2025, which clearly indicates that he has been subsequently roped in without any direct investigation linking him to the alleged offence. Accordingly, he prays for grant of anticipatory bail. 5. On the other hand, learned State counsel appearing for the non- applicant/State vehemently opposes the prayer for grant of anticipatory bail and submits that the present applicant is the user of the mobile phone and internet connection through which obscene and pornographic content relating to women and children has been uploaded and published on the social media platform, namely Facebook. It is contended that the material collected during investigation, including the Cyber Tip Line report and technical 5 data, prima facie establishes the involvement of the applicant in uploading such objectionable content. It is further submitted that the nature of allegations is serious and pertains to offences involving exploitation of women and children in cyberspace and therefore, the applicant is not entitled to the discretionary relief of anticipatory bail. Hence, the application deserves to be rejected. 6. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the case diary. 7. Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case, nature and gravity of the offence levelled against the applicant and the material available on record indicating that the present applicant was involved in uploading pornographic content and publishing obscene videos/photos of women and children on a social media platform from his mobile phone and internet connection, this Court is of the considered opinion that the allegations are serious in nature and do not warrant the exercise of discretionary relief in favour of the applicant. Accordingly, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, I am not inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the present applicant. 8. Accordingly, the anticipatory bail application of the applicant – Abdul Halim, filed under Section 482 of BNSS, involved in Crime No.193/2024, registered at Police Station–City Kotwali, District – Bilaspur (C.G.), for the commission of offence punishable under Section 67(B) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, is rejected. Sd/- (Ramesh Sinha) Chief Justice Kunal