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Disclosing Victim's Identity: Violations Continue

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2024-05-11 03:05:21

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

Upon his return to Kolkata from Kochi West Bengal governor V Ananda Bose, who has been accused of molestation by a Raj Bhavan staffer, chose to play the CCTV footage of the period when he has been accused of molesting the woman for a select group of people. In an attempt to dismiss the charges against him and prove his innocence, did the governor break the law?

For, the law (as stated in Supreme Court's judgment in the Nipun Saxena vs Union of India) prescribes that the identity of a rape or sexual molestation victim must not be disclosed to protect their dignity. In the CCTV footage the face of the woman, who pressed charges against the governor, was clearly visible. The legal cell of Raj Bhavan should have advised the governor to refrain from showing the clip. If he was adamant in doing so, they could have asked him to get the woman's face blurred.

It is sad that despite Supreme Court's strong intervention to protect the dignity of victims in such cases, two recent incidents in quick succession have shown that no one pays heed to this. In the Prajwal Revanna case, thousands of pen drives containing offending videos that disclosed the identities of the victims were distributed to all and sundry. This led to many of the victims fleeing their homes fearing social backlash and retribution from the Deve Gowda clan. Now the Bengal governor has disclosed the identity of the woman who accused him, laying her open to social backlash. She said that the video was screened without her consent and even threatened suicide.

The judiciary must take cognizance of these matters and issue a strict directive for protection of identity of rape, molestation and harassment victims. It must also prescribe strict punishment for those who violate the directive. Otherwise, the trend that has started now will multiply and victims will have to suffer again and again. 

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