Delhi court: missing phone can’t shield accused in child sexual abuse case

The Story in Brief

A Delhi court has upheld charges against a man accused of uploading child sexual abuse material on Facebook, ruling that the non-recovery of the phone used in the offence cannot stall prosecution when digital evidence links the accused to the account. Additional Sessions Judge Hargurvarinder Singh Jaggi dismissed a revision petition by Aditya Biswas, who challenged a trial court order to frame charges under Section 67B of the Information Technology Act, which covers publishing or transmitting sexually explicit material involving children.

The case follows an FIR registered by the South Delhi cyber police in December 2022, based on a CyberTipline report from the US-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, routed through the National Crime Records Bureau. Prosecutors say a Facebook account named 'Neem Biswas' uploaded a 17-second video of a child in a sexually explicit act. Investigators traced the account via IP logs and a mobile number. The court, in its July 27 order, held that physical recovery of a phone is not essential when the digital trail securely links the transmission to the accused's control.