The Supreme Court orally berated Irfan Ansari while dismissing his petition, which sought dismissal of the criminal prosecution against him after he was accused of revealing the identity of a minor rape survivor.
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court today berated a Jharkhand minister who allegedly revealed a minor rape survivor’s identity. “You want publicity for everything?” the top court berated Irfan Ansari while refusing to examine the petition that sought to dismiss the criminal prosecution against him for allegedly revealing a minor rape survivor’s identity.
“It was only for publicity. Mandatory requirements under the law were not followed,” a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma said.
Justice Nagarathna questioned why the minister could not visit the survivor alone or take one or two persons with him. Why did you see her with a group of supporters, the justice asked the politician.
The MLA of Jamtara and his supporters visited a hospital on 28 October 2018 to stand in solidarity with the survivor and her family, allegedly sharing her name, address, and photographs with the media.
Mr Ansari’s lawyer submitted to the Court that there was no direct evidence against him for disclosing the identity of the survivor whom he had gone to visit along with his supporters at the hospital.
