The Lahore High Court has issued an important ruling for WhatsApp users, clarifying that simply being a member or administrator of a WhatsApp group does not constitute a criminal offence.
The court, however, ruled that individuals who personally share illegal or objectionable content can be held accountable under the law.
Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh issued the detailed judgement while deciding the petition filed by Abdul Manan.
The court observed that the prosecution's case was not based solely on the accused's membership of a WhatsApp group but also on digital forensic evidence collected during the investigation.
Digital forensic evidence cited
According to the judgement, objectionable content was recovered from the 'sent' folder of the accused's mobile phone.
The court further noted that the technical forensic report also confirmed that the accused had shared the content in question.
The Lahore High Court clarified that merely being a member or even an administrator of a WhatsApp group is not a criminal offence. It further ruled that simply being present in a WhatsApp group or receiving messages does not, by itself, establish criminal liability.
Responsibility with person sharing illegal content
The court held that if there is evidence proving that a person personally shared illegal or objectionable material, that individual will be held responsible for their own actions.
The judgement emphasized that criminal responsibility must be based on evidence directly linking an accused to the dissemination of unlawful content rather than group membership alone.
Despite clarifying the legal position on WhatsApp group membership, the Lahore High Court ruled that there was prima facie sufficient evidence against the accused in this case.
As a result, the court denied the bail request and directed the trial court to complete the proceedings as early as possible.
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