Home Ministry bans media from publishing names of sexual assault victims

Srinagar, Jan 25: The Home Ministry has banned media houses from publishing the names of sexual assault victims and it can only be made public for certain cases with the permission from the court.
The MHA directive comes in the wake of media houses publishing the name with a photo in the gang-rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl from Jammu Kashmir’s Kathua.
According to Newslaundry, the order stated the name of the minor victim under POCSO can only be permitted by the special court if it is in favour of the child.
While reiterating that “no person can print or publish in print, electronic, social media etc the name of the victim or identify her in a remote manner”, the MHA noted, “In cases where victim is dead or of unsound mind, the name of the victim or her identity should not be disclosed even under the authorisation of the next of the kin, unless circumstances justifying the disclosure of her identity exists, which shall be judged by the competent authority, which at present is the Session Judge.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)