What Should A Woman Do To Remove From Internet Her Intimate Photos/Videos Uploaded Without Consent? Madras High Court Asks Centre

Justice Anand Venkatesh said that considering the social framework of the country, not all girls would be willing to go to the police station and give complaints. However, noting that the girls should not be left to suffer silently, the court asked the Ministry to give a prototype of how the girls could handle the situation without getting themselves exposed.

“There shall be a direction to the 1st respondent to file an affidavit before this Court by explaining the various steps that have been initiated and give a prototype as to what a victim girl must do when she is faced with a situation like this. Considering the societal frame work, not all girls are going to give complaint to the police and many are going to silently suffer the consequences. Therefore, they must be shown a way as to how they can handle a problem of this nature without getting themselves exposed and by providing an easy method to remove such videos / intimate images from the websites. If such clear directions are given, such girls can also approach the Self Help Groups or NGO, who can help in resolving the problems,” the court said.

The court was dealing with a petition filed by a young woman advocate seeking direction to the Ministry to act upon her representation and take all appropriate measures to block and remove her intimate photos and videos which were uploaded online by her former partner without consent. The court had previously asked MeiTy to take down all such photos and videos within 48 hours.

Following this, the Standing Counsel for the Ministry had informed the court that it was not possible to control the spread of intimate images and videos unless the entire website is blocked. The court then asked the Ministry to block the entire website that hosted the intimate photos/videos of the woman advocate. The court also asked the Ministry to block any such website where the photos/videos resurface.

When the matter was taken up today, the Senior Panel Counsel for the Ministry informed that steps had been taken to block all the websites. He also produced written instructions from the Home Ministry detailing the steps taken in connection with non-consensual intimate imagery.

The counsel for the petitioner however, informed the court that the photos/videos had resurfaced in 39 sites. The counsel also brought to the court's attention the steps that the Delhi High Court discussed in its judgment dealing with a similar issue.

The court noted that the issue needed continuous monitoring as it dealt with an issue faced by many victim girls and had become a menace in the society. The court thus directed the Ministry to list down the action that can be taken by victim girls in such situations.

The court also criticised the state police for the way the investigation was handled in the present case. The court was shocked to learn that the victim girl was made to sit with 7 male police officers to watch the videos and identify the accused person. The court said that by doing so, the victim girl was being harassed repeatedly, causing her more mental agony. The court stressed that in such cases, the victim should be accompanied by women police officers who are experts in cybercrime.

The court also highlighted the “gross insensitivity” shown by the department by naming the victim in the FIR. The court said that the police was causing more damage to the name and dignity of the woman. The court thus also instructed the department to immediately remove the victim girl's name from the FIR and from all documents where it had been incorporated.

Case Title: X v. Union of India and Others

Case No: WP 25017 of 2025