The Supreme Court Today (Aug 20th) ordered the removal of the name, photos and videos of a trainee doctor, who was raped and murdered in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, from all social media platforms. A bench headed by CJI Chandrachud said disclosure of the identity of a victim of sexual assault is a violation of its order passed in the Nipun Saxena case.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court issued a decisive order mandating the removal of the name, photos, and videos of a trainee doctor who was brutally raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital from all social media platforms.
A bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, along with Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, emphasized that the disclosure of the identity of a victim of sexual assault constitutes a direct violation of the Court’s earlier ruling in the Nipun Saxena case.
“The pictures and video clips of the body of the deceased have been circulating on social media… we direct that name, photographs, and video clippings of the deceased be immediately removed from all social media platforms,”
-the bench ordered.
The Supreme Court’s intervention came while hearing a plea filed by lawyer Kinnori Ghosh and others, who sought to prevent the ongoing disclosure of the victim medic’s identity on social media.
Earlier in the day, the Court had expressed its deep concern over the fact that the victim’s name and images were widely published across social media platforms.
“Photographs and video clips are all over the media. This is extremely concerning. We are first to recognize free speech but there are well-settled parameters. There are judgments of the court like in Nipun Saxena (case) that names of survivors of sexual assault will not be published,”
-the apex court remarked.
In its landmark 2018 judgment in the Nipun Saxena case, the Supreme Court had unequivocally stated,
“No person can print or publish in print, electronic, social media, etc., the name of the victim or even in a remote manner disclose any facts which can lead to the victim being identified and which should make her identity known to the public at large.”
This ruling underscores the Court’s commitment to protecting the privacy and dignity of sexual assault victims by prohibiting the disclosure of their identities in any form of media.
The tragic case involved the discovery of the trainee doctor’s body, which bore severe injury marks, inside the seminar hall of the hospital’s chest department on August 9.
Following the incident, a civic volunteer was arrested by the Kolkata Police the next day, accused of being involved in the horrific rape and murder.
The Supreme Court’s order aims to ensure that the dignity of the deceased is maintained and that her identity is safeguarded in accordance with the law.
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on Rape & Murder of a Doctor in Kolkata
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