High Court allows honey-trap case against Mumbai accused

CH NEWS, BENGALURU The Karnataka High Court has refused to quash criminal proceedings against four Mumbai residents accused of allegedly trapping a Bengaluru man through a matrimonial website, extorting money and threatening to circulate his private photographs on social media. Justice H.P. Sandesh dismissed the petition filed by Iram Pathan, Avaiz Pathan, Sumit Pathan and Rashida, allowing the case filed by Bengaluru's Whitefield police to continue before the 1st Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Court. The accused had challenged the jurisdiction of Bengaluru police, arguing that the alleged incidents took place in Mumbai. However, the High Court observed that the case could be investigated and tried in Bengaluru because the victim received threatening messages and suffered the consequences, including the loss of his job, in the city. The court referred to Section 179 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which allows a case to be tried where an offence and its consequences occur in different places. It also said the accused could raise their jurisdictional objections before the trial court. According to the complaint, the incident dates back to 2020, when the man connected with a woman through the Jeevansathi matrimonial website. The accused allegedly used marriage discussions to blackmail him and circulated threats through WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat. The complainant further alleged that he was illegally confined during a visit to Mumbai and forced to pay ₹50,000. False complaints were also allegedly sent to his employer, resulting in the loss of his job. Following his complaint, Whitefield police registered a case, investigated the allegations and filed a charge sheet. The High Court has declined to stop the proceedings.