Media can’t disclose survivors’ identity even indirectly: HC

MUMBAI: The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court (HC) last week issued additional restraints on print and electronic media to ensure that the identity of rape or child abuse survivors is not disclosed indirectly by publishing details of their parents, address or name of school.

Acting in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the mother of a rape survivor from Ahmednagar, the division bench of justice TV Nalawade and justice MG Sewlikar restrained the media from also publishing the names of parents of the survivors, their residential or office addresses, name of the educational institute where the survivor studies, or the survivor’s relationship with the accused, in case they are related.

The bench issued the guidelines after noticing that although Section 228 (A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) had provisions to penalise those disclosing the identities of rape survivors directly or indirectly and detailed guidelines were laid down by the Supreme Court (SC) in Nipun Saxena’s case in 2019, the identity of the petitioner was brought before HC.

The petitioner had brought newspaper cuttings to HC’S notice to point out how her name and detailed address, along with full particulars of the accused, were given out by local newspapers, while reporting the incident of kidnapping and rape of her daughter in 2011.

The petitioner had also pointed out recent newspaper reports regarding an offence registered by Ahmednagar police against an assistant police inspector for raping his sister-in-law.

While reporting the incident, the newspapers had given details of the locality and residential address of the accused, revealing the identity of the survivor.

The court, therefore, found it necessary to issue further directions to ensure that identities of survivors of rape and child sexual