WhatsApp got interim relief in fake resignation circulation case of Tripura CM

Agartala: WhatsApp authority got interim relief from the High Court of Tripura after a division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice T Amarnath Goud recently issued a stay on the decision of a trial court, which had allowed the Crime Branch of Tripura police to find out the originator of the fake resignation letter of Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha last year.
Police have been persuading WhatsApp for the last few months to disclose the first originator of a chat containing a fake resignation letter of CM Dr Manik Saha, a few days after he became Chief Minister on May 14, 2022, under the provision of 4(2) of the IT Rules, 2021. Finally, WhatsApp moved to the High Court, seeking protection for their ‘end-to-end encryption’ commitment.
However, Advocate General of Tripura S S Dey argued that, taking advantage of encryption assurance, a vested interest group misused the platform, and the fake resignation letter of the Chief Minister went viral on social media.
The magnitude of the crime had the potential to create public disorder and lead to law and order problems, but the high court didn’t agree.
The court posted the matter for the next hearing on December 5 and allowed police to continue the investigation.
The high court observed that the trial court did not specifically deal with the issue regarding the extent of threat to “public order” as prescribed under Rule 4(2) before asking WhatsApp to reveal the first originator of the message, that too only two days after the FIR was lodged.
Meanwhile, Tripura police (Crime) officials said unless WhatsApp revealed the data, at least for the serious nature of spreading disinformation, it would be very difficult to prevent the chaos in future.
There is no reason for the particular case to reveal the originator of the message because this was a conspiracy against the head of the state, and no law can compromise such a level of crime.
“Moreover, Section 4(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 allows for the identification of the “first originator” of a message if the request is backed by a judicial order in cases involving serious crimes like rape or threats to national security, and we followed it letter and spirit,” said a top official of Tripura police.