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Allahabad HC Stays FIR Against Two Men for Creating Email ID in Another Person’s Name
Confirmed
In Short: Allahabad High Court has stayed an FIR against two individuals who were accused of creating an email ID in another person’s name, ruling that such an action does not prima facie constitute identity theft.
The court found a prima facie case for interference and stayed the FIR dated July 23, 2026, until further orders. The respondent argued that the petitioners had used the email ID to send fake messages and complaints, which amounted to use of the third person's unique identification feature and thus attracted Section 66C. However, the court held that prima facie, it cannot be said that any offence under Section 66C had been committed by the petitioners.
Section 66C of the Information Technology Act, 2000, punishes the fraudulent or dishonest use of another person’s electronic signature, password, or other unique identification feature, with imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to ₹1 lakh. The more specific issue before the court concerned the application of this section to the creation of an email ID.
Manik Gupta, another lawyer appearing for Chaudhary, said the High Court indicated that the penalty would be recovered from the officials involved in sanctioning the detention, from the District Magistrate to the SHO. The court also quashed the detention of Akriti Chaudhary, a 25-year-old student held in connection with the Noida workers’ protest in April this year, describing the invocation of the National Security Act (NSA) as “arbitrary and vague.”
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- "Prima facie, the argument of Shri Ojha is found to be fallacious and misconceived." The Court consequently held that, at the prima facie stage, the allegations did not establish an offence under Section 66-C merely on the basis of creating an email ID.
- The petitioners argued that merely creating an email ID in another person's name did not fall within any of these categories.
- Chaudhary has been named in 11 FIRs, with charges including attempt to murder, intent to cause death or grievous harm during the incident, endangering life or personal safety, and criminal conspiracy.
- According to the lawsuit, this allows Suno users to generate songs, descriptions and artwork that “can conjure up a beloved musician’s identity” by prompting the model with a musician’s name.
- Isbell and the other artists allege Suno is violating their rights of publicity under various state statutes, including New York, California and Tennessee, which protect an individual’s ownership over their name, image and likeness.