{"id":1856,"date":"2025-11-26T09:03:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T09:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssrana.in\/posh-law\/?p=1856"},"modified":"2026-04-06T12:40:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T12:40:40","slug":"when-privacy-is-violated-can-such-cyber-acts-be-called-sexual-harassment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ssrana.in\/posh-law\/articles\/when-privacy-is-violated-can-such-cyber-acts-be-called-sexual-harassment\/","title":{"rendered":"When Privacy is Violated: Can such Cyber Acts be called Sexual Harassment?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Anuradha Gandhi, Isha Sharma and Rishabh Gupta<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

It took nothing more than a single unchanged default password- Admin123- to unlock what has now become one of India\u2019s most unsettling episodes of digital exploitation. What initially appeared to be a case of negligence in cybersecurity at Payal Maternity Hospital in Rajkot, Gujarat soon spiralled into a disturbing national scandal, forcing the country to confront a critical question: when women\u2019s intimate moments are secretly filmed, sexualised and circulated online, can such acts be categorized as \u2018Sexual Harassment\u2019?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Rajkot Hospital\u2019s CCTV cameras, left vulnerable due to their default administrative login, were effortlessly breached by hackers. What they accessed was deeply private: hours of footage of women undergoing gynaecological examinations. These illegally acquired recordings-capturing moments of extreme sensitivity and medical vulnerability- were widely circulated and sold on pornographic platforms for monetary gain, thereby, raising questions about digital security, institutional accountability and the legal and ethical rights of women in India.<\/p>\n

Inside the Cybercrime Network: From Rajkot to Global Porn Channels<\/h2>\n

This cybercrime came to light when teaser videos from the Rajkot<\/em> facility surfaced on YouTube channels such as \u201cMegha Mbbs\u201d <\/em>and \u201ccp monda\u201d.<\/em> Viewers of these clips were then lured to Telegram groups, where the complete explicit footage was sold for amounts ranging between INR 700 and INR 4,000.<\/p>\n

As the probe deepened, they uncovered a deeply troubling truth: the Rajkot breach was only the tip of the iceberg. Approximately 80 CCTV dashboards across the country had been compromised, extending far beyond hospitals, including in Pune, Mumbai, Nashik, Surat, Ahmedabad, and\u00a0Delhi<\/a>, as reported. [1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Investigators stated that most of the hacked locations had retained the default password for the CCTV dashboard, which was admin123. The hackers used a brute force attack to gain access to the system, using combinations of words, numbers and symbols. The default password being retained made the job easy.[2]<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Violation of Legal Rights and Safety<\/h3>\n

This incident has exposed the gaps in policy, compliance, and enforcement relevant not only in terms of gender justice but also in the protection of fundamental rights, technological accountability and medical ethics.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Breach of Fundamental Rights: The unauthorized recording, accessing and circulation of intimate footage constitutes a direct violation of the Right to Privacy, recognized as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution<\/p>\n

Breach of the Information Technology Act, 2000: Several provisions of the IT Act were triggered:<\/p>\n