Three practising lawyers have submitted a letter petition to the Supreme Court. It asks for proceedings to be instituted in regard to the Instagram group ‘Bois Locker Room’. The group’s infamous screenshots have now gone viral.
The 5-page letter addressed to the Secretary-General provides a full rundown of the group’s dynamics and the incidents surrounding it. It also informs that the Delhi Commission for Women took up the matter and issued directions to both Instagram and Delhi Police. The Delhi Cyber Cell subsequently took cognizance and registered a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. These include Sec-67, Sec-67A of the IT Act, and Sections 465, 471, 506, 507 and 509 of the IPC.
However, the petitioners fear that Instagram could cite privacy concerns and delay the investigation into the matter. Thus, they want the Supreme Court to monitor the probe into the Bois Locker Room. Further, the petition desires an order from the Court to prevent jurisdictional concerns from interfering with the case. This is due to the nature of the case. It by its very nature must jump over jurisdictional borders, they allege.
Advocates Anand Varma, Kaustubh Prakash and Shubhangi Jain filed the petition in Court. The filing was in their personal capacity. The unearthed scandal has opened a can of worms regarding the privacy and safety of women on social media. The juvenile age of the accused and the alarming attitude of objectification in the Bois Locker Room makes this a sensitive issue. Thus, the Top Court must intervene, and handle the judicial side of things, the petition claims.
