Pakistan, July 2 -- The Lahore High Court has ruled that simply being a member or administrator of a WhatsApp group does not amount to a criminal offence. The court clarified that criminal liability arises only when there is clear evidence proving a person personally shared illegal or objectionable content through the platform.

Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh issued the detailed judgement while deciding a petition filed by Abdul Manan. The court explained that the prosecution's case relied not only on the accused's WhatsApp group membership but also on digital forensic evidence gathered during the investigation, which formed the basis of the legal proceedings.

According to the judgement, investigators recovered objectionable material from t...