‘The mistake may have been made unknowingly’, relief from SC to the magistrate who revealed the name of the rape victim

Supreme Court Latest News: The Supreme Court on Friday (April 19, 2024) has given a big relief to a judicial magistrate of Kerala. The Supreme Court of the country upheld the order of the Kerala High Court, in which it had refused to take legal action against the Judicial Magistrate. The judicial magistrate had disclosed the name of a rape victim in the order. A petition was filed in the Kerala High Court against him for disclosing the name of the victim.

In the case, the bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra emphasized that this mistake might have been unintentional. This might have happened because the justice officer was on duty. Justice Roy asked, do you have any complaint against the judicial officer? We have many cases and we also make mistakes. Do you want us to impose a fine?

What is the matter?

This entire matter is related to a trial court in Kattakkada, Kerala. The trial court had passed an order, during which the Judicial Magistrate had refused to cancel the bail granted to the rape accused. However, the magistrate had revealed the name of the rape victim. Action was demanded against the judicial magistrate for making the identity of the victim public. A petition was also filed in the Kerala High Court demanding action against the Judicial Magistrate. While hearing the petition, the High Court had refused to order any action against him. The court had passed orders to immediately anonymize the records of all cases to protect the identity of the rape victim.

What decision did the single bench give?

A single bench of the High Court ruled that Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalises the act of revealing the identity of victims of certain crimes such as rape. This applies only to those who print or publish the identity of the victim. The judge said that this provision does not cover situations where the court inadvertently discloses such information during the proceedings.

Supreme Court rejected the petition

The Supreme Court refused to consider the petitioner’s appeal and upheld the decision of the Kerala High Court in the case. The court also rejected the petition.

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