A Mumbai magistrate court has ordered the discharge of Vishal Jha in the Bulli Bai case, holding that merely following the Bulli Bai app is not an offence and that nothing further in the charge-sheet shows his role.
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Mumbai: A Bandra court has discharged Vishal Jha, an accused in the Bulli Bai case, holding that merely following the Bulli Bai app is no offence and that the charge-sheet shows no further role against him [Vishal Jha v. State of Maharashtra].
Judicial Magistrate R T Ingle passed the order on October 6, 2026.
The case
The case concerns the Bulli Bai app, hosted on GitHub, which according to the prosecution displayed photographs of over 100 Muslim women for a purported auction. The charges against Jha were under Sections 153A and 153B and Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act. His alleged involvement was limited to following the application. The prosecution’s case is that of an accused person and the court did not examine the guilt of other accused in this order. The identities of those targeted are not reproduced here.
What the Court said
The magistrate held that merely being in contact with co-accused does not automatically establish liability for their acts, observing:
“May be the applicant has followed Bullibai App due to his familiarity with the co-accused…but, in entire charge-sheet there is no further role.”
The Court found no evidence that Jha created the app or assisted in its development, and relied on an Allahabad High Court ruling that simply following a page online is not punishable.
The defence
Advocate Aarati Deshmukh, appearing for Jha, argued that the charge-sheet contained insufficient material, particularly on the claim that he shared the app on Twitter. Two co-accused had earlier secured bail on April 12.
Why the order matters
The order draws a line between association and participation: a person’s digital footprint, such as following an account, does not on its own establish a criminal act. It is a decision on discharge for one accused on the material in the charge-sheet and is not a finding on the wider case, which continues against the others.
Case Title: Vishal Jha v. State of Maharashtra
Court: Judicial Magistrate R T Ingle, Bandra, Mumbai
Date of Order: October 6, 2026
Appearances: Advocate Aarati Deshmukh for the accused