Don’t disclose sexual assault survivor identity: SC to media
GUIDELINES Says the police shouldn’t make the FIRS in rape and sexual assault cases public MEDIA WAS ASKED TO AVOID SENSATIONALISM WHILE REPORTING SEX CRIMES INVOLVING CHILDREN SAYING “SENSATIONALISING” DOES NOT IMPROVE THE
CREDIBILITY OF MEDIA
NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday restrained the media from revealing the names and identities of victims of sexual assault, in any manner and also barred uploading for first information reports (FIR) in rape cases or cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
“Even the dead have their own dignity”, a bench of justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta said, asking the media not to disclose the identity of a rape victim without consent of the competent authority. “In cases where the victim is dead or of unsound mind the victim’s name or her identity should not be disclosed even under the authorisation of the next of the kin, unless circumstances justifying the disclosure of her identity exist, which shall be decided by the competent authority, which at present is the Sessions Judge,” the judges said.
Media was also asked to avoid sensationalism while reporting sex crimes involving children saying “sensationalising” such incidents “may” help “garner Television Rating Points (TRPS) but does not improve the credibility of media.
The bench also ordered that forensic reports in cases of sexual assault against women and children must be submitted in sealed covers. The guidelines were issued on a PIL filed by lawyer Nipun Saxena highlighting the inadequacies in law when it comes to compensating survivors of sexual assaults.
The court ordered that in addition to the name, even remote details that can reveal the identity of the victim must be protected and not put in the public domain. Media should also refrain from interviewing the family members of the victim.
A victim of sexual violence can move the court under pseudonym, provided the adopted name does not harm any other person, the court said. This pseudonym should reflect in the court records, including the work list. Victim’s real name may only be entered in certain documents such as vakalatnama – a document filed by a lawyer on behalf of the litigant or for courtverification purposes, medical examination or DNA profiling. An FIR copy can only be given to someone on the court’s direction that should record reasons for doing the same.
SC alluded to section 228A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalises revealing a rape victim’s identity and said “the intention of the law makers was that the victim of such offences should not be identifiable so that they do not face any hostile discrimination or harassment in the future.” But if a survivor is an adult and authorizes someone to make her name public, then the same may be done, the court said.
Observing victims of sexual offences are treated as “untouchables” and often “ostracized” the bench also referred to recent reporting of such cases on television channels. One instance cited was a case where the survivor had topped the State Board Examination of the state she belonged to. Although the news report did not reveal her name, the court said, “It would not require rocket science to find out and establish her identity.”
In another instance, the bench said, the television footage showed the survivor’s face in blurred form but the faces of her relatives, neighbours and name of the village were clearly shown and added.
“Unfortunately, in our society, the victim of a sexual offence, especially a victim of rape, is treated worse than the perpetrator of the crime. The victim is innocent. She has been subjected to forcible sexual abuse. However, for no fault of the victim, society instead of empathizing with the victim, starts treating her as an ‘untouchable’. A victim of rape is treated like a “pariah” and ostracised from society,” the bench noted in its verdict.