Notice to club president for ‘beaming private chats of members on projector’

The MIG Cricket Club in Bandra East. File pic/Nimesh Dave

The president of the Bandra-based MIG Cricket Club has been served a legal notice by the Maharashtra State Women's Commission (MSWC), demanding a response within eight days. The notice follows allegations by a group of women club members that screenshots of their private WhatsApp group chats were displayed via a projector during a meeting. However, club President Dr Mihir Bapat, who denies receiving any notice from the MSWC, said, "I have filed a counter-complaint with the women's commission. They haven't issued me a notice." The four women members who claim to have been targeted have approached the Kherwadi police station and the Maharashtra State Women's Commission, but no FIR has been registered yet.

What is the issue?

The women members had created a WhatsApp group for casual conversations and what they described as "harmless banter." It is alleged that Dr Bapat called an urgent joint meeting of the managing committee and board of trustees on December 23 last year, during which screenshots from the private WhatsApp chat group - including conversations among six women members - were displayed in a presentation. The members had been venting frustrations about the club president's wife in their chat group. However, a mole within the group leaked the conversations, sparking controversy just days before the club elections.

Mudslinging ahead of poll

"After receiving a complaint from the president's wife on Dec 19, we called an urgent meeting on Jan 7 to form a legal committee. The panel, including an independent female lawyer, summoned all parties, but the four complainants didn't appear despite multiple notices. With elections nearing, this is just mudslinging," said Shrikant Shetty, general secretary, MIG Cricket Club.

The complainants claim their chat messages were accessed without authorisation and leaked despite efforts to keep them private. Representation pic

Explaining his side, Dr Bapat said, "In the meeting, I showed chats that were sent to me by a well-wisher. These were highly derogatory and inflammatory. I firmly questioned the entire committee, including the trustee. I did not use any derogatory words during the presentation. In fact, the trustee admitted that she was part of this chat group, wrote the messages and has personal issues with my wife. This is clearly a case of a club trustee misusing her position, along with her friends, to defame the president and his wife ahead of the elections."

The controversy surfaced after a group of women members filed complaints at the Kherwadi police station and the Maharashtra State Women's Commission. "We were informed that a joint meeting of the managing committee and board of trustees was called on December 23, 2024. The woman trustee repeatedly questioned the validity of this meeting, as it was not in accordance with the club's constitution. However, she did not receive a satisfactory response from any office bearers or the chairman," states the complaint letter submitted to the Women's Commission earlier this month.

The complainant further alleges: "During the meeting, Dr Bapat started a presentation displaying screenshots of private chats from the Powerpuff Girls WhatsApp group. Seeing these private messages projected onto a screen in front of 14 to 15 men was shocking and humiliating."

Unauthorised access?

The complainants claim their chats were leaked and accessed without authorisation despite efforts to keep them private. They allege that discussions about these chats were not part of the meeting's agenda but were slyly introduced to publicly shame them.

"The chats expressed our personal opinions about Dr Bapat's wife. Some of us, including her, are part of the cultural sub-committee, and working with her has been challenging. Raising a formal grievance was pointless since Dr Bapat himself was also the secretary of this sub-committee. We merely shared our experiences within a private group, without any intent to spread malice," the complainant states.

The complainants further allege: "Dr Bapat deliberately exposed our private conversations in a formal meeting, misusing the club's platform for personal vendetta. He humiliated the trustee in a room full of men, using intimidating body language and threatening language. The other office bearers, including the chairman, remained silent, failing to intervene."

They also argue that the women in the WhatsApp group were unfairly portrayed in a negative light while being denied the chance to defend themselves. "Having men like Dr Bapat in positions of power makes women feel unsafe. He would have reacted differently had the same banter occurred in a private chat among six men. We have been tormented and humiliated, while he remains unbothered by his actions," the complaint alleges.

The letter further states: "This is an unjust attempt to suppress our fundamental right to freedom of speech and opinion under the Indian Constitution. Given the threats we have faced, we have been forced to take legal action."

Cybercrime probe

One of the complainants, in her police statement dated January 13, raised concerns about unauthorised access to their WhatsApp messages and private data. "I do not know how or to what extent Dr Bapat and others accessed my private messages and data. Unauthorised access and extraction of WhatsApp messages without permission constitute offences under Section 43 read with Sections 66 and 66B of the Information Technology Act, 2000, punishable by up to three years of imprisonment. This hacking may have also exposed other personal images and data, warranting further legal action," she stated in her complaint.

The complaint further alleges: "This was a pre-planned criminal conspiracy. The meeting was strategically scheduled, and all those involved acted in complete synchronisation. They must be tried under Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023." She also claimed that there is an audio recording of the meeting that could serve as evidence but alleged that the accused might delete the recording.

Police response

A senior officer at Kherwadi police station stated, "We were occupied with other cases but will look into this matter and take action as per the law."

Dr Bapat's defence

Responding to the allegations, Dr Bapat said, "My wife filed a defamation complaint against three female members on December 19 - before the meeting in question. The agenda was communicated in advance, and the discussion was conducted per club procedures. No derogatory statements were made by me. The chats were leaked by them, not obtained illegally. A member provided them to me. I have followed due process by appointing an internal legal committee to investigate the matter." Dismissing the allegations, he added, "These claims are baseless and aimed at maligning my and my wife's reputation."

"As a husband, I defended my wife's dignity. As club president, I upheld the club's values. As a doctor, I refused to be defamed for no reason. My stance has been twisted to make me appear as if I have outraged the modesty of these women, who have no evidence against me except these allegations. They even failed to appear before the club's legal committee to prove their claims. This is a deliberate misuse of the law to pressure me as a doctor and harm my family's reputation. My response to the Women's Commission is under review, and the truth will come out," Dr Bapat said.