SC Takes Exception Of Judgement Mentioning Rape Survivor's Name

Naming The Survivor: A Supreme Court bench headed by three judges took exception to a verdict on June 30 by a session's court in Chattisgarh which mentioned the survivor's name in the rape case.

The top court directed, "We are of the view that all the subordinate courts shall be careful in future while dealing with such cases."

The bench was headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan and consisted of Justices Vineet Saran and M.R Shah. They said that it is well established that the name of the survivor is not to be mentioned in proceedings of such cases of sexual crimes. "However, we take exception to the judgment of the sessions judge where the name of the victim is mentioned," they said.

This happened when the court rejected a plea filed by the convict in the rape case who challenged the Chattisgarh High Court verdict. The court dismissed his appeal and ruled, "In the facts of the case, we are not inclined to entertain this special leave petition. The special leave petition is accordingly dismissed.”

The convict had earlier filed a plea to the Chattisgarh High Court in December 2019 which challenged the 10 jail term given to him by a trial court. The High Court had then dismissed the plea. Mahasamund sessions court had convicted the man in connection to a rape case lodged in 2001.

Dismissing the consensual physical relation argument, the high court had upheld the trial court's verdict citing the survivor's statement.

Naming the survivor in rape and sexual assault cases:

As per the Supreme Court's order of December 2018, the name and identity of the survivor of a rape and sexual assault case cannot be revealed, not even in a remote manner. This also includes the victims who have died. The order was given by a division bench comprised of Justices Deepak Gupta and Madan B Lakur. They had issued a nine-point guideline to ensure the privacy and reputation of the survivors.