The "Bois Locker Room" Chat Group

What has happened?

In the late evening hours of Saturday, purported screenshots of chats between boys and girls in a group called the “Bois Locker Room” started making rounds on social media. By early morning of Sunday, the screenshots had been widely shared across on different social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter. The boys involved in this group chat allegedly used to objectify women and their body parts by passing derogatory comments and circulating intimate chats and photos of the girls. It has also been reported that allegedly, one of the boys also shared photos of an underage girl. These boys and girls who are as young as 15-year-old are believed to be students of prominent schools and institutions across the capital city of New Delhi and Noida.Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal took cognizance of the matter and sent a notice to Instagram, and the DCP, Cyber Cell. Then the Cyber Cell then took Suo motu cognizance of the matter and filed an FIR under sections 465, 471, 469, 509 of the IPC and sections 67 and 67A of the IT Act.

WHAT RECOURSE HAS BEEN TAKEN?

A senior police officer said, “On Monday, we found out that the administration of a prominent private school had filed a complaint at Saket police station.” Police have so far found that some students of leading South Delhi schools created the Instagram group in the last week of March and started adding their friends. “A few members are in college. Some of the teens allegedly started sharing photos posted by schoolgirls on their Instagram accounts, and passing sexually explicit comments,” an officer said, adding that the purported chats also included threats of sexual violence.

As of now, police have apprehended a 15-year-old boy and are probing into the matter. Police, using technical surveillance, got the registered number of the 15-year-old, who had allegedly shared a photograph on the group. His phone was switched off. After finding his address, he was apprehended on Monday evening.”

WHAT LEGAL PROVISIONS CAN BE USED IN SUCH CASES?

The Delhi Police have registered a case under the provisions of Information Technology Act 2000 and the Indian Penal Code 1860. Besides these provisions, the sharing of images of underage girls could also be a violation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 (POCSO Act). But the main obstacle in this case is the fact that most of the boys are minors which means they will not be tried in criminal courts, but Juvenile Justice Boards by virtue of Juvenile Justice Act. According to the 2015 Amendment, boys who are between the ages of 16 to 18, could be tried as adults but only for heinous offences, which means offences with imprisonment 7 years or plus. 

• S.66E, IT Act: Sharing of images of “a private area of any person without his or her consent”. Imprisonment of up to 3 years, and/or a fine of up to Rs 2 lakhs.
• S.67A, IT Act: Sharing of any images that show a person engaged in a sexual act or conduct.Imprisonment of up to 5 years, and/or a fine of up to Rs 10 lakhs.
• S.67B, IT Act: Creation or distribution of any digital text or images that depicts children “in obscene or indecent or sexually explicit manner”.Imprisonment of up to 5 years, and/or a fine of up to Rs 10 lakhs.
• S.354, IPC: Voyeurism. Imprisonment of 1-3 years, and a fine. For subsequent convictions, imprisonment of 3-7 years.
• S.354D, IPC: Stalking. Imprisonment of up to 3 years and a fine.
• S.14 & 1, POCSO Act: Child Pornography. Imprisonment of 5 years or more and a fine (Section 14), and imprisonment of up to 3 years and a fine (Section 15).