In December 2004, Delhi Police arrested Avnish Bajaj , the American CEO of Baazee.com. He was charged under Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for distributing obscene material and Section 67 of the original Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000.
The DPS RK Puram MMS scandal refers to a controversy that emerged in 2004 involving a leaked video that appeared to show students of Delhi Public School (DPS), RK Puram, engaged in inappropriate behavior. The scandal gained significant media attention due to its sensitive nature, especially given that it involved minors.
(then owned by eBay) under the title "DPS girls having fun" for roughly $3. Key Legal & Social Consequences
The legal battle wound through the courts for years, ultimately culminating in a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of India. The court ultimately exonerated Avnish Bajaj, acknowledging that a corporate entity or its executive officer could not be held vicariously liable for independent criminal acts committed by anonymous platform users unless direct intent or complicity was proven. Legal Concept Pre-2004 Status Post-Scandal Outcome
The video was transferred via Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)—the primary method for sharing media between mobile phones before mobile internet apps existed.
The arrest of Avnish Bajaj, an American citizen, sparked international debate over whether platform owners should be held criminally liable for content uploaded by users.
. It is often cited as India's first major MMS scandal, fundamentally changing the country's legal and social approach to digital technology and privacy. Core Incident Details
As the video fades from trending pages (as all digital storms eventually do), the uncomfortable question remains: Did the millions who shared, commented, and debated actually help the victim, or did they simply consume a tragedy for social currency? The answer, scattered across a million timelines, remains unresolved.
In direct opposition, a vocal group of child rights advocates and ethical digital citizens pleaded with users to stop sharing the clip. Their arguments were nuanced:
The search term "34 extra quality" appended to the DPS scandal name appears to have emerged from the dark corners of file-sharing networks where archived versions of the clip were stored. In peer-to-peer platforms prevalent during the mid-2000s—such as LimeWire, Kazaa, and eMule—uploaders frequently appended descriptors to distinguish one version of a file from another. Labels like "high quality," "CD quality," "DVD rip," and numeric indicators such as "34" were often arbitrarily assigned to files, regardless of their actual technical specifications.
The clip was initially shared via Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), the primary method for sending media between phones at the time, before finding its way onto the internet.
In late 2004, a 17-year-old male student at Delhi Public School (DPS) RK Puram used his mobile phone to record an intimate 2-minute and 37-second video with a 16-year-old female classmate.
under titles like "DPS girls having fun". Physical copies were also sold as CDs in local markets like Delhi's Palika Bazaar. Legal & Institutional Impact The scandal exposed significant gaps in the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000
smartphone, featured a male student, Hemant Chugh, and a female classmate engaging in a sexual act. The Distribution: The clip was initially shared via Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)
Traditional institutions maintained absolute control over student conduct and reputation.