Justice Devan Ramachandran of the Kerala High Court heard the petition that sought action against the Magistrate under Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which criminalises revelation of victim’s identity in offences like rape. The Kerala High Court ruled that a Magistrate cannot be prosecuted for not anonymizing victims’ names, citing Section 228-A IPC and the Judges (Protection) Act, 1985. Judicial officers are protected from any action during the discharge of their duties. The Court emphasized the importance of maintaining the anonymized of victims of sexual offences and suggested that judges and judicial officers should anonymized their details from the beginning of the case to protect their privacy. This recommendation came after a victim’s name and details were mistakenly revealed in a judgment.
The petitioner requested the High Court to protect her identity and take action against the Magistrate. The petitioner’s counsel argued that the victim faced ridicule and prejudice. The respondents’ counsel argued that the Magistrate is protected by law and an omission does not warrant prosecution. The Court clarified that Section 228-A IPC applies to those who reveal victims’ identities, not judicial officers who unintentionally omit anonymized details. It urged officers to ensure anonymized from the start.
CASE NAME : XXX v. State of Kerela
NAME : Kavya Jaggi , COURSE : B.B.A.LL.B 5th Semester, COLLEGE : Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
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