SC raps media over pics of rape victim

◗ The bench agreed to look into the issue of preventing the victims from being harassed and traumatised by all authorities

The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed serious concern over growing incidents of child rape and banned electronic media from putting up images of minor girls, who were allegedly raped, even in morphed or blurred forms.

A bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta, which is already seized of issues relating to observation homes, took a suo motu cognisance of the rape incidents after receiving a letter from Patna highlighting the plight of girls in Muzaffarpur shelter home for destitutes, where dozens of inmates were sedated and raped. The bench also barred the media from conducting any interviews with the minor victims.

The Supreme Court bench agreed to look into the issue of preventing the victims from being harassed and traumatised by all authorities, including the police and media. It also issued a notice to the Centre seeking its response.

The bench also sought explanation from Nitish Kumar- led Bihar government and the women and child development ministry as to why neither of the two took action to stop minor girls from being raped in shelters home in Muzaffarpur.

Over 40 minor girls and boys have been raped and sodomised over the last five months in multiple shelter homes in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur.

The case of multiple child rapes in a shelter home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur hit headlines a few days ago.