14-year-old Chandigarh boy gets bail in AI-morphed images case

A fast-track special court has granted bail to a 14-year-old boy, who was apprehended on October 13 for allegedly sharing morphed obscene images of nine girl students of a prominent city school on a social media platform.

A case under Sections 67-A and 67-B of the Information and Technology Act and Section 13 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered at the Sector 11 police station on the complaint of the girls’ parents.

During investigation, it was found that the boy procured photographs of his schoolmates from different social media platforms and morphed them using online tools. He then disseminated these images through a social media platform.

The teenager, who is a Class 9 student, was housed in observation-cum-special home, Sector 25, ever since. An application seeking regular bail was previously declined on October 16.

Advocate Harish Bhardwaj, counsel for the appellant, argued that the boy was falsely implicated in the matter and deserved bail. The counsel contended that it was not in the welfare of the teenager to stay in the observation home as he belonged to a reputed family.

The court observed that the appellant should undergo counselling sessions. The boy required support of his parents and family, and no purpose was being served by keeping him at the observation home, said the court while releasing him under the care of his parents against bail bonds of ₹50,000 with one surety.