Legal Analysis: Vijayakumar v. State of Tamil Nadu

Citation: 2026 INSC 525

Court: Supreme Court of India

Bench: A Division Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol & Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh

Date of Decision: May 22, 2026

Nature of Judgment: Criminal Appeal arising out of Criminal Appeal No. 2859 of 2025 against the judgment of the High Court of Judicature at Madras dated 28.02.2024 in Crl. A. No. 325 of 2017.

Synopsis of the Judgment

The appellant was in a romantic and physical relationship with the prosecutrix for about two years. When the relationship soured and the prosecutrix insisted on marriage, the appellant allegedly threatened to upload on Facebook a video of her taking a bath, which he had secretly recorded. The Trial Court acquitted him of charges of rape (Section 376), cheating by inducement of marriage (Section 493), and voyeurism (Section 354C) but convicted him under Part II of Section 506 IPC (criminal intimidation with threat to impute unchastity). The High Court affirmed. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction, holding that: (i) even if the video was not recovered, the prosecutrix’s testimony, corroborated by her sisters, was credible; (ii) the threat to upload a nude video amounts to a threat to “impute unchastity” within the expanded understanding of unchastity as encompassing dignity, privacy, and sexual autonomy; (iii) the appellant failed to discharge his burden under Section 106 of the Evidence Act regarding facts especially within his knowledge; (iv) the appellant’s studied silence and failure to offer an alternative version justified the conviction. However, considering the incident occurred in 2015, the sentence was reduced to the period already undergone.

1. Basic Information of the Judgment

Case Title: Vijayakumar v. State of Tamil Nadu

Citation: 2026 INSC 525

Criminal Appeal No.: 2859 of 2025

Bench: Justice Sanjay Karol & Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh

Date of Decision: May 22, 2026

Court: Supreme Court of India (Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction)

Impugned Order: Judgment and Order dated 28.02.2024 of the High Court of Judicature at Madras in Crl. A. No. 325 of 2017, confirming conviction under Part II of Section 506 IPC and sentence of three years rigorous imprisonment.

2. Legal Framework

Major Laws and Provisions Involved

• Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Section 503 (definition of criminal intimidation), Section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation – Part II for threat to impute unchastity to a woman, punishable up to seven years), Section 376 (rape – acquitted), Section 493 (cohabitation by deceitful inducement of belief of lawful marriage – acquitted), Section 354C (voyeurism – acquitted).

• Indian Evidence Act, 1872 – Section 106 (burden of proving fact especially within knowledge of accused), Section 114 (court may presume existence of facts in common course of natural events), Section 145 (contradicting witness by previous writing), Section 155 (impeaching credit of witness).

• Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – Section 162 (statements to police – use for contradiction), Section 313 (examination of accused), Section 280 (demeanour of witness).

• Constitution of India, 1950 – Article 21 (right to privacy and dignity), Article 136 (special leave to appeal).

Key Precedents Cited and Applied

• Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2019) 3 SCC 39 – Section 497 IPC (adultery) struck down; patriarchy and anachronistic conceptions of chastity deprive women of dignity

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