The Kerala High Court has ruled that the admin of a WhatsApp group cannot be held liable if a group member posts objectionable content.
The high court made the ruling while quashing a POCSO case against one such WhatsApp admin, in whose group a member had posted child pornography.
The court said that the only privilege held by a WhatsApp group admin over other members, is that they can add or delete any members from the group. They do not have any control over a what a member of the group posts, and they cannot moderate or censor any messages.
Also Read: WhatsApp could soon let group admins delete messages for everyone
The court said that there was no law by which admin of any messaging service could be held liable for a post made by a member, noting that there is not master-servant or principal-agent relationship between the admin of a WhatsApp group, and its members.
It goes against the basic principles of criminal law to hold an Admin liable for a post published by someone else, the court said.