Bengaluru: “What kind of man are you? You won’t leave women to be safe anywhere?” Karnataka high court said Monday while coming down heavily on a social media content creator accused of secretly filming women passengers on Namma Metro trains in the city.While delivering the sharp rebuke, the court also refused to quash criminal proceedings against the creator, identified as BK Diganth, an accountant. He was arrested by Banashankari police last May for allegedly recording videos of women without their consent and sharing them on Instagram and Telegram under the handle ‘Metro Chicks’. The Instagram handle had close to 6,000 followers, while there were around 1,000 Telegram subscribers, a good chunk of whom had mindlessly commented on the physical attributes of the women discreetly photographed on trains. Diganth had moved the high court challenging the proceedings against him pending before the II additional chief metropolitan magistrate court (Bengaluru) for offences punishable under Sections 78(2) (stalking), 238(C) (providing false information) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act. He contended that no offence was made out, as the content shared was no different from visuals captured by CCTV cameras in public spaces. However, his plea ran into strong judicial disapproval.“What is this ‘Metro Chicks’?” asked Justice M Nagaprasanna. Spiking the comparison with CCTV surveillance, he asked: “You take pictures of women from behind and post them online? What nonsense is this?” The court went on to underline that such conduct, carried out without consent and amplified on social media, could not be equated with legitimate surveillance, but instead raised serious concerns about privacy invasion and harassment.Diganth’s counsel attempted to challenge the case on technical grounds, arguing that the investigating officer was also the complainant. But the court brushed aside the contention. “Technicality cannot override such acts of yours. Time has come to stop hiding behind technicalities in matters like this,” Justice Nagaprasanna said, dismissing the petition at the threshold and allowing criminal proceedings to continue.
