Worried About a Fake Complaint from a Foreign Facebook Friend? Need Legal Advice on Its Validity in India

Hi, I needed guidance on a legal issue and since I could not find the appropriate section to post it, I decided to post it here in the hope someone here with legal knowledge will guide me.

My issue is as follows

I have been chatting with an online Filipino Facebook friend for the last few months whom I met on a dating site. Recently, we had a major fight as I found her to be of a scamming nature and out to extort money. There were abuses from both ends. I admit I too was angry and hurled some abuses and threats at her on Facebook. She then resorted to blackmail, saying she has taken screenshots of my chat on Facebook Messenger and complained to the authorities in India. She is extremely immature and did not specify which authority. I then blocked her. She has a lot of Indian Facebook friends who probably advised her on this.

She wouldn’t complain to the authorities in her country because she knows the authorities in her country would not even entertain her, but she thinks that Indian authorities will entertain her fake claims. It's really funny how these people think authorities are there to sort out Facebook differences; such is her level of maturity. Now I need to ask how credible this threat of hers is. Will whichever authority she has complained to track me down from Facebook messages and comments? Overall, I need to ask if some foreign national like this Filipino girl makes a complaint about an Indian regarding the messages and comments on Facebook, will the police here in India take any action? How valid is that complaint by a foreigner against an Indian for social media comments and messages?

Appreciate your advice.

Nothing to worry about as long as the Indian police do not lodge an FIR against you. It is not that easy even for an Indian citizen to lodge an FIR. If both sides were engaged in mudslinging, then on what basis can either party take legal action against the other?

Therefore, consider that the matter has been closed and move on.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Supreme Court Judgment on Section 66A of the IT Act

You are saved by the Supreme Court judgment (2015) in the Shreya Singhal case, which invalidated Section 66A of the Information Technology Act 2000. The apex court struck down the provision in the cyber law that allowed police to arrest a person for posting "offensive" content online, which carried a three-year jail term.

Section 66A of the IT Act reads: "Any person who sends by any means of a computer resource any information that is grossly offensive or has a menacing character; or any information which he knows to be false, but for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with fine."

Recently, the matter resurfaced, and the Supreme Court has directed all states to liquidate all criminal cases where Section 66A is charged.