HC directs portal 'Indian Kanoon' to mask acquitted man's name from judgment in rape case
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court has directed online portal "Indian Kanoon" to mask the name of a man from the judgment of a case in which he was acquitted of the charge of rape.
The court passed the interim order on the 29-year-old man's plea seeking masking of his name in the trial court's 2018 judgment.
The man submitted that even after his acquittal in the case, he has been made to suffer immensely due to the existence of the judgment on the internet and even a mere search on the web reflects his name.
The high court said a perusal of the trial court judgment would show that no case was made out against the petitioner beyond reasonable doubt and the trial court had held that the testimony of the prosecutrix was not trustworthy.
"Accordingly, under such circumstances, since the judgment is openly available on the Indian Kanoon website and is also accessible through any web search, including Google search, till the next date of hearing, it is directed that the name of the petitioner shall be masked on the Indian Kanoon portal. In effect, therefore, if the said judgment becomes visible in a search result or Google search, the name would also not be visible," Justice Prathiba M Singh said in an order passed on May 29.
The high court directed that "Indian Kanoon", a search engine for Indian laws, may mask the petitioner's name from the judgment within a week.
Advocate Prashant Diwan, representing the petitioner man, submitted that due to the name being shown in the trial court judgment, his personal and family lives are being affected.
The lawyer said according to the trial court's verdict, the woman's testimony was held to be not trustworthy and reliable and was also held to be not corroborated on material points with the testimony of other prosecution witnesses. The petitioner was, accordingly, acquitted of all charges, he added.
The high court also directed the portal to place on record an affidavit, stating the policy in respect of the right to be forgotten and about masking names in such cases, including in judgments of this court and orders and decisions passed by trial courts.
The court asked the respondents to file their responses to the petition within six weeks and listed it for further hearing on October 5, when other cases relating to the issue of right to be forgotten are also listed.
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Bengaluru: Four arrested for housebreaking, threats, extortion; fake PSI among accused
Bengaluru: Vidyaranyapura police have arrested four persons, including a man posing as a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), for allegedly breaking into a house, threatening the occupants, and extorting money while wearing police uniforms.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mallikarjuna, Pramod, Vinay, and Hrithik.
Police said the accused had hatched a plan to pose as police personnel, conduct fake raids, and extort money from residents by intimidation.
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According to the police, Mallikarjuna had failed the PSI examination twice and later falsely projected himself as a PSI. He allegedly conducted photo shoots in his hometown, Siraguppa, wearing a police uniform, baton, cap, and shoes, claiming to be serving as a PSI in Bengaluru.
On December 7, the four accused allegedly went to the house of Naveen in the Vidyaranyapura limits, threatened him with a stick and an iron rod, and claimed they had information that he was selling ganja. Under the pretext of searching, they allegedly extorted ₹87,000 through bank transfer, ₹53,000 in cash kept in the house, and ₹2,000 from his wallet.
Following Naveen’s complaint, Vidyaranyapura police registered a case and launched an operation, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Police have seized ₹45,000 in cash and the car used to commit the crime.
Further investigation is underway.
