High Court directs trial court to redact references which disclosed victim’s identity

NT NETWORK

Panaji

The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Thursday directed the trial court, which recently acquitted former editor-in-chief of Tehelka, Tarun Tejpal in a 2013 rape case, to redact all references in its judgement which disclosed the victim’s identity, before uploading it on the court’s website.

A vacation bench of Justice S C Gupte was hearing an appeal filed by the Goa government, challenging the judgement passed by the Trial Court Mapusa acquitting Tejpal in the case.

The High Court said, “It appears from the impugned judgment of the Sessions Judge, available to this Court, but which, the Court is informed, is not yet uploaded on the trial Court website, that it contains a reference to the victim’s husband and also her email ID in paragraph 55 of the impugned judgment, a reference to the Gmail account of the victim in paragraph 182 at page 288 and a reference to the name of the mother of the prosecutrix in paragraph 177 of the impugned judgment.”

“In the interest of protecting the identity of the victim of an offence, such as the one with which we are concerned in the present case, it is appropriate to have the above references to be found in paragraphs 55, 177 & 182 of the impugned judgment redacted. The trial Court is accordingly directed to redact the above references, as also other similar references, wherever found in the order, whilst uploading the impugned judgment,” the High Court added.

Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta appearing for the Goa government, told the HC that the observations made in the judgement and most of the findings with regard to the victim were “astonishing”.

“The judgement, which is yet to be uploaded on the court’s website and made public, also in various paragraphs discloses the identity of the victim woman,” he said. The judgement discloses names of the victim’s mother and husband and also the victim’s email ID which indirectly reveals her (victim) name, Mehta said.

The Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta who appeared for the appellant State, informed the Court that a copy of the impugned judgment, which is not yet uploaded on the trial Court website, has been made available physically to the State only recently (the order having been received by the appellant State only on May 25, 2021, that is to say, after the appeal was filed by the State). 

The Solicitor General sought time to place the order on record and amend the grounds of appeal. He offered to do so within three days. The High Court granted leave to the appellant State to amend the appeal accordingly and adjourned the hearing to June 2.

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