# J&K High Court quashes case over WhatsApp message on COVID cases 2026-08-10T09:54:38+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has quashed a criminal case from 2020 against Sandeep Kumar Bhat, who was accused of circulating a WhatsApp message saying two COVID-19 cases were detected in a Jammu locality. Justice M.A. Chowdhary observed the message was not intended to promote enmity between groups as required under Section 505(2) IPC. The court noted the investigation was not complete even after nearly five years, calling further proceedings an abuse of process. ## Coverage - barandbench.com Tags: Covid-19, Jammu and Kashmir High Court, quashing of FIR, Section 505 IPC, WhatsApp message Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/jk-high-court-quashes-case-over-whatsapp-message-on-covid-cases/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/jk-high-court-quashes-case-over-whatsapp-message-on-covid-cases/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.