The Rajasthan High Court has directed a man accused of uploading a morphed photograph of a minor girl to stay away from all social media platforms for three years as a condition for his bail in a voyeurism case.

The bench of Justice Ashok Kumar Jain imposed the condition while granting bail to the accused in a case registered under Section 77 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Observing that the accused had allegedly misused social media, the Court said restricting his access to such platforms for three years would be an appropriate condition.

"The applicant-accused shall submit an affidavit/undertaking before the trial Court for not using social media platform including Facebook, Instagram, Thread, Snapchat etc. for a period of three years and if it is found that the applicant-accused is using any of the social media platform in his own name or any fictitious name then his bail order may be recalled by the trial Court itself," the order states.

The Court further directed the accused to file an affidavit before the trial court undertaking that he would not use any social media platform during the three-year period. It also clarified that if he is found using any such platform, whether in his own name or under a fictitious identity, the trial court would be at liberty to recall his bail.

The accused was arrested on April 2 in connection with an FIR registered on February 12. Seeking bail, he claimed that he had been falsely implicated and pointed out that he had remained in custody since his arrest.

Notably, his counsel also submitted that if the Court believed social media had been misused, it could impose a condition restraining him from using such platforms.

Taking into account the period already spent in custody and the likelihood that the trial would take time to conclude, the High Court granted bail subject to the above conditions.

Advocate Vikram Singh Jaitawat appeared for the petitioner. Public Prosecutor Narendra Kumar Gehlot, along with Advocates Om Prakash Choudhary and Awar Dan Ujjwal, represented the State and the complainant.