Law

Delhi High Court issues notices to media houses, prohibits them from revealing identity of Kathua rape victim

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Taking sou moto cognizance of the news reporting in the Kathua rape and murder the Delhi High Court has issued notices to various media houses prohibiting them from disclosing the identity of the victim.

A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar also sought to know from the media houses why penal action should not be taken against them for violating the law, which prohibits disclosure of identity of a rape victim and that too involving a minor.

The court registered the issue as a case and fixed it for further hearing on April 17, when the ministry concern has also been asked to file their stand.

The high court expressed concern over the authorities not taking any action against the violators of law. It said that “the manner in which news are being reported on her are very unfortunate”.

“The girl photo is used as background in newsroom,” the bench remarked. The high court took up the issue on its own after coming across print and electronic media reports revealing victim’s name.

Lawyers in Kathua recently tried to prevent the Crime Branch to file the chargesheet in the rape and murder case of the an eight year old girl. However the police, after calling reinforcements filed the chargesheet.

The Jammu and Kashmir police registered a case against the lawyers for obstructing Crime Branch from filing charge sheet in Kathua rape and murder case at the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Kathua.

Mehbooba Mufti, after the protest and the strike call given the Jammu Bar Association said that law won’t be obstructed due to the actions or statements of a group of people.

Nine accused, including the alleged mastermind Sanji Ram – an ex-bureaucrat – and his son vishal Kumar, a police head constable, two SPOs and a sub-inspector of police, have been arrested in the case.

Recently, the DNA report suggested that the eight year old  Kathua girl was being held captive in a temple.

Nine accused, including the alleged mastermind Sanji Ram – an ex-bureaucrat – and his son vishal Kumar, a police head constable, two SPOs and a sub-inspector of police, have been arrested in the case.

Ram  surrendered before the police on March 20. His surrender came after the arrest of his son Vishal – a BSc Agriculture student -from Meerut area of Uttar Pradesh.

Ram, said to be linked with the Hindu Ekta Manch, allegedly motivated special police officer Deepak Khajuria to kidnap, rape and murder the eight-year-old victim with the intention of driving out nomadic families of Muslim origin from Jammu’s Rasana village.

Earlier, it came to fore that how the police had initially botched up the probe by destroying crucial evidence. 

On January 17, body of minor girl was found in the forests near Rasana, Hiranagar. The girl had been missing for a week. According to police, she had been abducted and raped by an SPO Deepak Khajuria, who was a part of the team sent out find her when she was missing.

The investigation of the Crime Branch further revealed that she had been drugged so that she couldn’t cry for help.

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