Will Take Down Tweet Disclosing Identity Of Minor Rape Victim: Rahul Gandhi To Delhi High Court

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that he will take down his tweet allegedly disclosing the identity and sensitive details about a minor girl, who was raped and murdered in 2021, and her family on social media.

Gandhi's counsel gave an oral undertaking before a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna after the court said that it does not want to pass a judicial order directing Gandhi to take down the tweet.

A nine-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered by a priest inside a crematorium in 2021 in the Delhi Cantonment area. Rahul Gandhi had met the minor's family and posted a picture on X, formerly Twitter.

The court was dealing with a plea moved by Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar, a social activist, claiming that by posting the photograph with the parents of the child victim, Gandhi violated the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, which prohibit the disclosure of identity of minor victims of sexual offences.

During the hearing today, Delhi Police's counsel, Santosh Kumar Tripathi, told court that nothing further survived in the petition and the same was infructuous as all the prayers had been met.

He further told court that investigation qua Rahul Gandhi in the matter is under progress and that there was a lot of complexity involved in the matter.

The bench was further informed that the minor victim died of electrocution and there is no scientific evidence available to suggest that it was a case of rape and murder.

As the court asked Delhi Police's counsel about the status of prayer regarding registration of FIR against Rahul Gandhi, the court was told that further details in the matter will be filed in a sealed cover as the police's intention is “not to scandalize the position of anyone.”

“My report is already on record. Details of the investigation are mentioned. If anything further is required, I'll put it up in a sealed cover. Unless the first part is proved, which is the main crime, subsequent circulation of anything on Twitter is not a crime. The purpose of Delhi Police is not to scandalize anyone,” he said.

Advocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing for victim's family, submitted that the details of the case should not be discussed in open court as it will affect the trial.

Additionally, Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani appearing for the petitioner told court that it does not matter whether the crime or allegation is proved or not, action against Gandhi would still arise as the identity of the minor was disclosed in public domain, which is an offence under the POCSO Act.

The court directed the Delhi Police to file an accurate and elaborate further status report in the matter, in a sealed cover, indicating the current status of investigation qua Rahul Gandhi within four weeks.

The matter will now be heard on January 24, 2024.

The plea places reliance on the judgment of Nipun Saxena v. Union of India wherein the Supreme Court held that personal information and particulars of a victim or child in conflict with law cannot be disclosed in media.

"It is submitted that Rape, particularly that of a minor girl, is one of the grossest crimes committed against children. Disclosure of such crimes to the outside world only adds to the agony of the family of the victim and the victim herself. By doing so the Respondent No.1 has put the lives of the victim's family members at high risk," the plea states.

It seeks directions on NCPCR to take appropriate legal action against Gandhi. Further, a direction is also sought on the Delhi Police to register an FIR against him under relevant provisions of POCSO Act.

Case Title: Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar v. Rahul Gandhi & Ors.