The Supreme Court has asked High Courts and the lower judiciary to conceal the identity of rape victims in their judgements.Though legally there was no embargo on courts from identifying rape victims in their judgements, it was necessary to conceal the identity to protect the victims from social stigma, the apex court said.“Keeping in view the social object of preventing social victimisation or ostracism of the victim of a sexual offence for which Section 228-A has been enacted, it would be appropriate that in the judgments, be it of this Court. High Court or lower Court, the name of the victim should not be indicated,” a bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and Mukundakam Sharma observed.The apex court passed the observation while dealing with an appeal by a rape convict in which the judgements of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and the Sessions Court carried the name of the victim.Section 228-A IPC makes disclosure of identity of victim of certain offences punishable.Printing or publishing name of any matter which may make known the identity of any person against whom an offence under Sections 376, 376-A, 376-B, 376-C or 376-D (related to rape) is alleged or found to have been committed can be punished.
