Delhi High Court grants bail to Kashmiri ‘hacker’

The court also directed Teeli not to “indulge in any other similar activity nor tamper with the evidence or try to influence the witnesses”.

Teeli’s counsel submitted that the petitioner had no connection with the hacked websites or the material being used against him.

Accepting the submission, the court noted that “petitioner is in custody since April 27, 2018. The offence under Section 66 of the Information Technology Act is punishable up to 3 years imprisonment. The other offence on which charge sheet has been filed is Section 124A (sedition) IPC which is also punishable up to life or up to 3 years depending upon the nature of sedition activity.”

The Delhi Police Special Cell had arrested Teeli (20) and Shahid Malla (28) for allegedly posting “pro-Pakistani” content. Malla is still in judicial custody. The chargesheet alleged that the accused worked with professional Pakistani hackers.

The FIR was registered on the complaint of Sachin Makhija, owner of Rajan Overseas Manufacturer & Exporter, who claimed that their website — rajanoverseas.co.in — was hacked since March 27, and unwanted content and images were uploaded. Currently, the pages are deleted and admin access is not functional.

During the investigation, user Malla was found to be maintaining a Facebook account ‘HAXER 1’ with user name ‘SHAHID MALLA’. Malla’s name was also mentioned on the defacement page posted on the hacked website of the complainant along with the names of Teeli and others.

According to the police, on analysis of digital footprints, social media platforms and website of the accused, it was found that Malla was available at Rajpura, Punjab, from where he was apprehended on April 27.

Malla’s interrogation revealed that Teeli was residing in Jalandhar, after which Teeli was apprehended.