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Soon, SOPs to curb non-consensual content
Centre told the court that the committee, composed of six experts and representatives from the Union government, will come up with a framework
BENGALURU The Union government has set up an expert committee to create a standard operating procedure for combating the spread of non-consensual intimate images (NCII), following directions from the Madras high court in a case involving a woman lawyer whose private images were leaked and repeatedly resurfaced online.
Senior counsel Abudu Kumar Rajarathinam, who appeared for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), told the court that the committee, composed of six experts and representatives from the Union government, will come up with a framework to deal with all cases involving NCII content.
The government made the submission before a bench of justice Anand Venkatesh of the Madras high court that was hearing the woman advocate’s petition against the continued circulation of her private photos and videos, which her former partner had recorded without her consent and shared online. Despite multiple takedowns, the images kept reappearing, prompting Venkatesh to intervene and demand urgent systemic solutions.
The government informed the court that MeitY had constituted a committee with representatives from the ministries of home affairs, women and child development, communications (department of telecommunications), and MeitY itself. The joint secretary of MeitY will head the panel, which also includes cyber law experts and nodal officers from the participating ministries, it said.
The committee will draft an SOP (standard operating procedure) that combines “legal and technical strategies to immediately and effectively” tackle NCII content. It will also propose long-term solutions and outline clear steps that victims themselves can take when their private content is leaked online.
The Centre told the court that sensitising government agencies to the issue will form another key part of the committee’s mandate. The high court recorded the submissions and said the committee should treat the present case as a “test case” to find a robust mechanism to block such content and prevent it from resurfacing.
“This is like Ravana’s head. Each time you cut it, it grows back. Even when we block the video, it reappears. The real problem is relapse,” justice Venkatesh said, referring to the woman lawyer’s videos and photos resurfacing online despite the government and police authorities repeatedly blocking them.
The court then suggested that MeitY can take the same steps it took to block over 1,400 URLs, including international links, spreading anti-India propaganda during “Operation Sindoor”.
Justice Venkatesh said the same intensity and technological tools must apply when a “citizen’s dignity” is at stake.
“The nation is nothing but a conglomerate of its citizens. If we can take swift action to protect the country’s image, we must do the same when one individual’s fundamental right under Article 21, right to dignity, is under attack,” the judge said.
The court noted that NCII content remains a pervasive and recurring issue, especially affecting women who face stigma, threats, and long-lasting trauma. “This isn’t just one woman’s fight. It reveals systemic gaps that harm thousands of women across the country,” the judge said.
The petitioner’s counsel pointed out that while MeitY had previously blocked six URLs, the video had now resurfaced across 13 new links.
Senior counsel Rajarathinam confirmed that the URLs were inaccessible in Delhi and Mumbai but still active in Tamil Nadu. He said this was probably because of coordination issues with local service providers and said the authorities will fix it.
The court reiterated that the committee must take the present case as a blueprint and evolve a method that works, so it can be replicated in future cases. “This court will not allow this to become just another committee with a report that gathers dust,” justice Venkatesh said.
During a previous hearing last month, the court had directed MeitY to detect and remove all private content of the petitioner within 48 hours. The woman had filed a police complaint after discovering that her ex-partner had secretly filmed their private moments and shared the content online. Despite repeated takedown efforts, the videos continued to resurface on pornographic websites, messaging apps, and social media platforms.
