Delhi court acquits Swati Maliwal accused of revealing rape victim's name

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday acquitted MP and former chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), Swati Maliwal, accused of allegedly disclosing the identity of a 14-year-old rape victim who succumbed to injuries.

Additional chief judicial magistrate Neha Mittal also acquitted Bhupender Singh, then public relations officer of DCW.

The prosecution alleged Singh disclosed the minor rape victim’s name to electronic media at Maliwal's behest.

According to the FIR, the notice sent by Maliwal as the chairperson of DCW, in which she sought to know about the investigation in the rape case, was "intentionally circulated" on a WhatsApp group and shown by a TV channel.

"Prosecution has failed to prove the commission of offence under Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, read with Rule 86 of the Juvenile Justice rules by the accused persons beyond a reasonable doubt," the order said.

The court said neither the notice revealing the identity of the minor victim on WhatsApp nor Singh sharing a copy of the notice with a news channel was proved.

While Section 74 of the law prohibits any such disclosure to the media, Rule 86 deals with the classification of offences as cognisable or non-cognisable and designated courts.

"Accused persons, namely Swati Maliwal Jaihind and Bhupender Singh, are hereby acquitted of the offence under Section 74, read with rule 86 of the Juvenile Justice Act," the court said.

The order referred to the testimony of witnesses and underlined "complete failure" on the part of prosecution or complainant to prove the charges. On the allegations that the notice revealing the minor’s name was displayed by a news channel on July 25, 2016, the court noted when the footage of the news item was viewed neither such a notice was seen, nor did the anchor disclose her name.

"Thus, the allegations of the prosecution to this extent appear to be baseless and unfounded," the court held.

It also rejected the prosecution’s argument that Maliwal could be convicted based on the notice she sent to the SHO, revealing the minor's name.

"It does not appeal to common sense to hold accused 1 (Maliwal) criminally liable for disclosing the name of the minor victim to SHO of Burari police station, who otherwise is in knowledge of all her details, being the one responsible for filing the chargesheet in the FIR," the court said.

The court in the meantime referred to the legislative intent behind the enactment of Section 74 JJ of the act, saying the aim was "to avoid scrutiny of the proceedings in which a juvenile is tried to insulate and protect the juvenile from stigma and emotional trauma".

"Some measures like restricted access to records of trials, sealing and destruction of records of prosecution of juvenile delinquents are finding acceptance among legislatures across the world. The courts have been anonymising trials of children in conflict with the law to protect their identities," it said.

Delhi Police booked Maliwal in 2016 and said there was a blatant violation of provisions of Juvenile Justice Act, which protect the identity of a minor victim of sexual offence.

The minor girl succumbed to her injuries on July 23, 2016, at a hospital after being sexually assaulted by her neighbour who allegedly forced a corrosive substance down her throat and damaged her internal organs.

On account of the presence of the consent of the victim's parents to disclose her name, Section 228A (Prohibition on disclosure of identity of the victim) of the IPC was dropped, and Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act was added in the case.