Minors should be taught about 'virtual touch' to be safe on social media: Delhi High Court

Educating minor children about sexual harassment by teaching them about ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’ might not be sufficient to protect them from the threats of the virtual world, the Delhi High Court recently observed [Kamlesh Devi v State of NCT of Delhi & Anr]. .Hence, they must be taught about virtual touch as well, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said. Educating minors about ‘virtual touch’ involves teaching them about appropriate online behaviour, recognizing warning signs of predatory behaviour and understanding the importance of privacy settings and online boundaries, the Court explained. “Just as children are taught to exercise caution in the physical world, efforts must be made taken to teach them to develop critical thinking skills to assess the credibility of online contacts and safeguard their personal information,” the single-judge said.She, therefore, asked the concerned stakeholders to include material in school curriculum about virtual touch and its repercussions and dangers. “The need of the hour in this case is also to send a message through this order/judgment to the concerned stakeholders such as schools and colleges, Delhi State Legal Services Authority as well as Delhi Judicial Academy to hold programs, workshops, and conferences focusing not only on the traditional concepts of ‘Good’ and ‘Bad Touch’ but also on the emerging concept of ‘Virtual Touch’ and its potential dangers,” the Court said..The Court observed that in today’s virtual modern world where virtual space has also become a priding ground for alleged virtual affections between teenagers, the teenagers are not equipped to deal with the potential dangers of human trafficking for prostitution and other side of crimes which exists in the virtual world..Justice Sharma passed the order while dealing with a plea filed by a woman named Kamlesh Devi accused of being involved in the kidnapping of a 16-year-old girl.She was the mother of a man named Rajiv who befriended a minor girl on social media, kidnapping her and confining her for days.It was also alleged that the girl was subjected to sexual assault and forced to marry a 45-year-old man in exchange for money. The minor also alleged that the accused persons used to bring various men to the premises where she was confined and she was forced to present herself to these men for sexual gratification..The Court considered the case and denied bail to Devi.It further ordered that the order shall be forwarded to the Delhi Judicial Academy and Delhi State Legal Services Authority for information and compliance..Advocates Amit Prasad, Rajeev Ranjan, Rishikesh Kumar, Ayodhya Prasad, Arpit Tripathi, Chanya Jaitley, Niaz Baldawala and Kavya Agarwal appeared for accused Kamlesh Devi.Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Manoj Pant along with advocates Saurabh Das, Paramveer, Lalit Kumar and Ashok Kumar Shukla represented the Delhi Police..[Read Judgment]