WhatsApp Group admin cannot be held liable for objectionable post by other members, says Bombay High Court

In a ruling to a case against the admin of a WhatsApp group, the Bombay high court noted that the group admin cannot legally be held responsible for any objectionable post by other members of the group.

Administrators of WhatsApp groups cannot be held criminally accountable for any objectionable post by other members of the group, the Bombay High Court ruled out recently. The ruling by the Nagpur bench of the court came in response to a case of sexual harassment against a 33-year-old man. The court noted that administrators of WhatsApp groups have limited control over it. They can add or delete members but cannot regulate or censor the content posted in the group by the other members. Passed last month, a copy of the order by Justice Z A Haq and A B Borkarwas was made available on April 22. As India Today reported earlier, the order was passed on an application filed by Kishor Tarone (aged 33), the administrator of a WhatsApp group.