One of my clients recently had a case which I am explaining below and if you are stuck in such similar situation, here is what to do.
Note: Due to attorney-client privilege, I cannot disclose complete case details or identify the actual parties involved. However, I am sharing the essential facts and legal approach so that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you can understand the available solutions and legal remedies.
TL;DR: Online extortion is a criminal offence in India, not a private dispute, and the person demanding money can be prosecuted under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act. A mere threat to file a police complaint against you does not make you an offender, and a complaint against you is not the same thing as an arrest. The correct first step is a written cyber crime complaint with preserved evidence, and where you fear a counter-complaint, anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS.
Key Facts of the Case
- An arrangement between two people that existed only online soured in early 2025. Only the client's side of the account is available.
- The other party demanded money and threatened to circulate private content if it was not paid.
- A second threat ran alongside it: that a police complaint would be filed against the client.
- The client tried to handle it alone first. Blocking, deleting and ignoring did not stop the messages.
- A written complaint was filed at the cyber crime police station with screenshots, chat records, account details and a formal request to preserve the data.
- A protection application was kept ready in case the other side filed a counter-complaint.
- The Chamber of Advocate Sudhir Rao treated it as an online extortion and cyber crime matter, not a general dispute.
- Outcome: a case was registered, the private material was not circulated, and the demands stopped.
The Direct Legal Answer
Is it a crime if he demands money and nothing has been paid yet?
Yes. Putting a person in fear of injury and inducing them to part with property is extortion under Section 308 BNS. The offence is complete at the stage of the demand and the fear, not only at the stage of payment. Criminal intimidation under Section 351 BNS is a separate offence that stands on its own.
Can he get me arrested by filing a police complaint against me?
Anyone can walk into a police station and give information. That does not mean a case is made out or an arrest follows. Police are bound to register an FIR if the information discloses a cognizable offence (Lalita Kumari v. Government of UP, 2014). Registration is not arrest, and custodial arrest requires its own justification. If you genuinely fear arrest, anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS is the remedy.
What can I do about online extortion threats to leak private content?
Treat it as a crime and a data problem at the same time. Complain in writing, and ask for preservation of the messages, call records and account details. Depending on the facts, Section 66E or Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 may apply, and in some cases Section 77 BNS on voyeurism. Speed matters here, because a takedown is easier before the material spreads.
Advice in Such Cases
Consult with Lawyer: The very basic and important step to start is talk to Lawyer / advocate. You should not hesitate in paying his consultation fee i.e. might be in range of Rs. 10,000 to 50,000 depends case to case. He is helping you in this situation to come out. He is expert in the domain and can help you explain the procedure which you might have never explored. A good lawyer can get the issues resolved much faster than you think.
Do not delete anything. Screenshots of chats, the payment trail and the account handles are the case.
Put everything in writing, and keep a receipt or acknowledgement of your complaint.
Matters like this turn on procedural and procedural and evidentiary detail. Which is another way of saying: the file you build in the first week usually decides how the rest of it goes.
What Happens After You File an Online Extortion Complaint
The sequence, roughly:
- Written complaint. At the cyber crime police station for your district, or on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. Take a printed copy to the station and ask the receiving officer to sign, stamp and put a diary number on your copy. That page is your proof of the date you complained.
- Registration. If the information discloses a cognizable offence, an FIR has to be registered — Section 173 BNSS. If the station sits on it, your next steps are a written complaint to the Superintendent of Police, and then an application to the Magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS.
- Preservation request. Ask, in writing, that the platform's records be preserved — chat logs, login and IP logs, and the account registration details behind the handle. This is the step people skip, and platforms purge data on their own schedules.
- Your statement. You will be asked to give a statement and to hand over copies of the chats. Keep the originals on the phone untouched.
- Notice to the other side. Where an FIR names a person, the police may issue a notice of appearance under Section 35 BNSS rather than arrest them. That notice is not a charge and it is not a finding of guilt.
Certifying your screenshots properly
Screenshots on their own are fragile in court. Electronic records need to be accompanied by the certificate the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 requires — the provision that replaced Section 65B of the Evidence Act. In practice this means: keep the original device, export the chats with the full thread and timestamps intact rather than cropping them, and let your advocate prepare the certificate at the time of filing. Cropped screenshots are the easiest thing for the other side to attack.
If you expect a counter-complaint against you
This is where most people panic, and the panic is usually misplaced. Anyone can walk into a station and give information. That does not create an offence out of nothing. Two points matter here.
First, a threat to file a police complaint, used as leverage to extract money, is itself part of the extortion. The demand and the threatened consequence are the offence. Second, if you have a genuine and reasonable apprehension of arrest, anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS is the remedy, and it is filed before the Sessions Court or the High Court. Do not wait for the police to reach your door before preparing it. On these facts, having the application drafted and ready is what keeps the other side's threat from working.
Giving false information to the police with intent to cause harm is separately punishable under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. That is a point for your advocate to raise at the right stage — not something to argue over WhatsApp.
Where These Cases Actually Go Wrong
Three patterns, in order of how often I see them:
- Deleting the evidence to make it go away. People delete the chats, block the account and wipe the thread, then file a complaint with nothing attached. Blocking is fine. Deleting is not. The messages are the case.
- Paying once to buy peace. It does not buy peace. It establishes that the demand worked, and the next demand is larger.
- Filing late. Takedown is far easier before material spreads than after. Delay converts a removable post into something the police can only investigate, not undo.
And an honest limit. On some facts there is very little to argue. If the material was published by consent at the time it was created, or if the "demand" was actually a negotiation over money owed, the picture changes and the extortion case weakens. The messaging, the sequence and the content of what was said will decide it far more than anything either side asserts in a complaint.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I be arrested just because he files a complaint against me?
No. A complaint is information, not a verdict. Registration of an FIR and arrest are two different decisions, and arrest has to be justified on its own footing. If the police do want to arrest in a case carrying up to seven years, they ordinarily have to issue a notice of appearance under Section 35 BNSS first, unless the reasons for arrest without notice are recorded.
Will the police call me if I am named as an accused?
Usually yes, and it will come as a notice asking you to appear — not a warrant. Appear on the date given, with an advocate. Skipping the notice is what turns a routine appearance into a reason for arrest.
I already paid some money. Can I get it back?
Recovery is possible but it is a separate fight, and it depends on where the money went and how fast it was reported. Report early and ask the investigating officer in writing about the money trail. Once funds move out of the banking system, recovery becomes the hardest part of the case.
Should I block him and delete the chats?
Blocking, yes. Deleting, never. Take screenshots with timestamps, export the chat, keep the device, and note down the account handle and any number used.
What if the material has already been posted?
Then the priority changes to takedown and containment. Write to the platform's grievance officer under the IT Rules, and to the police, on the same day. The Grievance Appellate Committee mechanism exists for platforms that do not respond. Takedown requests move faster when they carry a police complaint number.
Can I file the complaint in my own city if he lives elsewhere?
Yes. For offences involving electronic records, a complaint can be given where you live or where the material was accessed by you, and a zero FIR travels to the correct station. Practically, file where you are. Do not travel to another state to find a police station.
Do I need anticipatory bail if no FIR has been registered yet?
Not automatically. You need it when there is a real apprehension of arrest — a likely counter-complaint, a notice, or a prior history between the parties. On thin facts, an anticipatory bail application can do more harm than good by signalling that you expect to be an accused. Get advice on this specific question before filing.
How long does an online extortion case take?
Registration can take days and should not take weeks. Investigation typically runs for months. Bail hearings are usually listed within days of filing. Trial timelines vary so widely between courts that any single number would mislead you.
What to Send
If you are in this position, send three things and nothing else to begin with: the police complaint you filed or propose to file, its date and acknowledgement, and a two-line note on whether any money has been paid and whether any material has been published. Do not forward the material itself over email unless asked — describe it.
You can write to /contact-us or book a consultation at /book. Messages reaching me@sudhirrao.com go directly to me. The chamber number is +91 97295 06771, and the office is Lawyers' Chamber, Chamber No. 86, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi - 110001. If the same set of messages sits alongside a matrimonial or family dispute, Adv. Jyoti Rao, Bar Council of Delhi D/891/2023, handles those matters.
This is general information about Indian law and is not legal advice on your own situation. Please have your documents read by an advocate before you act.
Advocate Sudhir Rao, Supreme Court of India
Facing a similar matter? Speak to a criminal lawyer in Delhi — Advocate Sudhir Rao appears in bail, trial and appellate matters before the Delhi District Courts, the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India.