The High Court on Saturday issued a notice to the Delhi government on a petition seeking a ban on the disclosure of the identity of accused persons in rape cases until the trial ends and the accused is proven guilty.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma asked the government to submit a status report on the same before the next hearing in the case on August 8.
The petitioner, who kept his identity anonymous, sought a direction to the government to frame appropriate guidelines to “protect the dignity, reputation and privacy” of the persons accused of rape until the end of the trial.
The plea also sought a direction to trial courts and police officials to keep all details in documents pertaining to the name and identity of the accused masked or hidden, as far as possible, from the public domain.
It sought an additional direction to “restrict the discussion, reports, articles and observations published in the media in a distorted or prejudicial manner toward the accused until the completion of trial and proven guilty”.
