Two people face prosecution over a circulating WhatsApp message in Chhatarpur
Police in Chhatarpur registered a 2026 case over a circulating WhatsApp message under speech provisions of the BNS and election law. The High Court recorded that there was no other allegation against the petitioners. It granted them anticipatory bail on bonds of Rs 25,000 each.
This page records what the cited court records and reports say happened. Findings belong to the court or authority that made them; this register adds none of its own. Names of private individuals are withheld unless a naming gate clears them.
How we verify →The petitioners were granted anticipatory bail on 15.06.2026 with a direction to surrender within three weeks; the criminal case remains pending.
What happened
The High Court recorded that the petitioners faced Chhatarpur P.S. Case No. 0023 of 2026, registered under sections 196(2) and 353(2) of the BNS, 2023 with a section 125 charge under the Representation of the People Acts.
The court noted that the allegations were of a circulating message on Whatsapp, and that apart from that there was no allegation against the petitioners, who had no disclosed criminal antecedents.
The court granted pre-arrest protection, directing the petitioners to surrender before the trial court within three weeks and to be released on bail bonds of Rs 25,000 each with sureties, subject to conditions under Section 482(2) of the BNSS, 2023.
The order decides only bail and expresses no finding on guilt; the underlying criminal case remains pending.
What the record says
“In the attending facts and circumstances of the case, I am inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioners.”
A.B.A. No. 3075 of 2026, order dated 15.06.2026 — read the full text
Punished for a freedom
The only allegation the court recorded was circulating a WhatsApp message, charged under speech provisions about enmity and public-mischief statements. Circulating a message harms no one and is an exercise of speech.
What we could not confirm
The text of the WhatsApp message and the exact incident date are not stated in the order excerpt; the district is not named in the order (Chhatarpur police station); the full name of the second petitioner is truncated in the case title.