The Supreme Court has clarified that an offence under Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 is bailable, setting aside the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s observation that the provision had not been defined as a bailable offence under the Act. A Bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B. Varale held that the High Court had failed to consider Section 77B of the IT Act, which governs the classification of offences under the statute.
The appeal arose from a habeas corpus petition filed by Maharaj Saran, seeking the release of his son, who had been detained at the airport pursuant to a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued in connection with an FIR registered by the Cyber Crime Police Station, Fazilka, Punjab. The FIR alleged offences under Sections 66, 72 and 84-C of the Information Technology Act, 2000, along with Section 78(1)(ii) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
While disposing of the habeas corpus petition, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had observed that Section 66 of the IT Act had not been defined as a bailable offence, prompting the appellant to challenge that legal finding before the Supreme Court.
The Court noted that it had issued limited notice solely on the legal question concerning the nature of the offence under Section 66. After hearing the parties, the Bench held that the High Court had overlooked Section 77B of the Information Technology Act, which must be read to determine whether offences under Section 66 are bailable or non-bailable.
Accordingly, the Court set aside the High Court’s observation treating Section 66 as a non-bailable offence and disposed of the appeal with the said clarification. It did not otherwise interfere with the High Court’s order. All pending applications were also disposed of.
