Author’s Insight

After finally escaping a toxic relationship and thinking you’ve left all the chaos behind, a new challenge emerges. 

Your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend begins to use compromising photos of you as leverage—demanding favours, coercing you into unwanted actions, or simply inflicting mental anguish for inexplicable reasons. 

Engaging in such behaviour is not only unethical but is also a punishable criminal offence in India, with potential imprisonment of up to seven years in the most severe cases. 

This blog will guide you through the legal steps you can take if you find yourself in this distressing situation, and will detail the legal repercussions that await those who commit these offences.

Understanding Revenge Porn

Revenge Porn refers to the non-consensual distribution of sexually explicit images or videos of individuals without their permission. This can occur regardless of whether the original capture of the images or videos was consensual. 

The key aspect of Revenge Porn is the intent to distribute this content deliberately, aiming to cause mental distress or damage the reputation of the person depicted. This malicious act is a severe violation of privacy and dignity.

What to do if you become a victim of such unethical crime?

While India does not have a specific law addressing Revenge Porn directly, victims still have legal recourse under broader legislation. The lack of a specialised statute means that the police often resort to the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) and relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) to handle such cases. 

Victims can file a complaint with the cyber cell either by visiting in person or through an online submission of complaint via the official website of your State Police.

The critical question often raised is about the consent for taking the photos or videos. While consenting to take private photos is not in itself unlawful, sharing them without explicit permission to do so constitutes a crime. This principle is further explored in subsequent sections of this blog.

One notable legal case in India is the State of West Bengal v. Animesh Boxi, where the Tamluk District Court made a landmark ruling in a Revenge Porn case. The defendant, after a three-year relationship, coerced the victim into sending private images and illegally obtained nude photos from her phone. When the victim refused to comply with further demands, the defendant threatened and eventually posted these images on a pornographic website. 

The court convicted the perpetrator, sentencing him to five years in prison and imposing a fine of 9,000 INR.

This case underscores the legal system’s recognition of the severity of Revenge Porn and its commitment to penalising such offences, offering a measure of justice to victims.

Legal Consequences for Offenders of Revenge Porn

It’s crucial to acknowledge that offenders of Revenge Porn are not confined to one gender. 

This crime affects individuals across genders, and the laws in India addressing non-consensual pornography are designed to be gender-neutral as per the IT Act.

Consequences for Violating Privacy: Privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, and individuals can assert this right in court. 

Specifically, Section 66E of the Information Technology Act, 2000, protects individuals’ privacy in cyberspace. This section criminalises the transmission or publication of images capturing the private area of a person without consent, punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of two lakh rupees, or both.

Consequences for Non-Consensual Sharing: Taking pictures of someone engaged in a private sexual act without their consent is a crime. Under Section 354C of  the IPC, dealing with Voyeurism, the act of watching or capturing an image of a woman without her knowledge during a private activity is punishable with three years of imprisonment on a first conviction and seven years on subsequent convictions.

If the pictures were taken consensually within the context of a relationship but shared without consent, it still constitutes an offence. Additionally, Section 67A of the IT Act penalises the publication or transmission of images showing sexually explicit acts without consent in electronic form, with a five-year imprisonment and a fine of ten lakh rupees on the first conviction, increasing to seven years and the same fine on subsequent convictions.

Relevant Laws: The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, also addresses this issue under Section 2(c), which defines the indecent representation of women as any depiction of a woman’s body in a derogatory or morally corrupting way. This is punishable under Section 4 of the same Act.

Furthermore, even making a derogatory gesture or utterance intended to insult a person’s modesty or intrude upon their privacy is punishable under Section 509 of the IPC.

These laws collectively create a robust framework to combat the serious issue of Revenge Porn, ensuring that offenders face stringent consequences for their actions.

Conclusion

While Revenge Porn itself is not explicitly defined or singled out for punishment in Indian statutes, it is recognized by legal professionals as a crime that comprises multiple offences. This allows for the prosecution of such acts based on the specific combination of offences involved.

In India, where discussions around sexual relationships remain sensitive and can sometimes lead to victim-blaming, it is crucial to raise awareness about the legal ramifications of Revenge Porn. It is important to understand that Revenge Porn is punishable under various existing laws and that both men and women can be victims of this crime. Moreover, offenders of any gender can be held accountable and face legal consequences. Educating the public about these protections is essential in combating Revenge Porn and supporting its victims effectively.