‘Bulli Bai’ auction app case: Engineering student discharged; court says ‘no evidence’

In a recent legal development, a 25-year-old engineering student named Vishal Jha has been discharged from a 2022 'Bulli Bai' auction app case. The court concluded that there was no evidence linking him to the creation of the app or involvement in sharing photographs of Muslim women. Jha, who was arrested by the Mumbai Police, was initially accused of sharing and following the app.

However, the court ruled that merely following the app is not considered an offense. The Allahabad High Court had previously upheld that following a website page is not unlawful. In April, a separate accused, Mayank Rawat, was not cleared as there was sufficient proof indicating his involvement in the offense, including downloading photographs of Muslim women from social media and posting them on the app.

The Mumbai Police sought to clear Jha of the charges, arguing that his role was limited to following the app and maintaining contact with co-accused individuals. The court, however, acknowledged that his mere presence in contact with others does not serve as evidence of his participation in the creation or distribution of the app.