Can WhatsApp Admins be Jailed For Fake & Hate Messages? A FactFile
BOOM spoke to lawyers who were of the opinion that holding WhatsApp admins liable for group members posting objectionable content is misuse of criminal law.


1) Do not forward photos of political leaders - 'Sonia, Rahul, Modi, Kejriwal' or that 'ridicule religious, political, social system or bad pictures or videos or 'damaging messages pertaining to personal details, personal, nationality, religion, sect, radical, customs, geographical area'.
2) 'Police are watching WhatsApp' and 'Cyber Crime are watching all group folders'.
3) Police have already arrested an admin in Pune and was sent to jail for a year. In Mumbai cyber crime arrested 36 members of a WhatsApp group who shared a video and photo.
4) Forwarding such messages is non-bailable offence with a 7 years punishment.
5) An investigation committee is formed to track communal posts and it will be punished under section 44-58 or CPC by tracing the IP address. The accused will be arrested with any warranty. The group admin will be punished under Section 59.
Thus, the message advises the group admins to either delete the group or remove the person who sends such messages. On Facebook this message is being widely shared along with a 27-second video clipping of an IPS officer speaking about how WhatsApp group admins can be held accountable for any objectionable forwards by group members. However, the officer TK Vidhyarthi, SP of Neemuch district in Madhya Pradesh does not talk about any other claims made in the message. Click here to view the clip.
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