New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) The Delhi High Court today stayedthe proceedings against Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chiefSwati Maliwal in a case of allegedly disclosing the identityof a 14-year-old Dalit rape victim who had succumbed toinjuries.
Justice Ashutosh Kumar granted the interim relief toMaliwal who was summoned by the trial court to appear beforeit on October 23 in the case.
The court asked the Delhi Police, represented throughstanding counsel Richa Kapoor, to file a status report in thematter and listed it for hearing on December 19.
Senior advocate R S Cheema, appearing for the DCW, saidthat the commission had earlier issued notice to the policeasking reasons for not arresting the accused and the botchedprobe in the matter after which the accused was arrested.
"However, exhibiting an instance of flagrant abuse ofpower, the police lodged an FIR under the IPC against the DCWchairperson on frivolous allegations that under authority ofthe chairperson, its functionaries had sent the copy of thenotice of July 22, 2016 on a WhatsApp group of DCW and mediapersons, thereby revealing the name of the victim," he argued.
The police had earlier told the high court that they haveinvoked provisions of Juvenile Justice Act against Maliwal.
It had said that it has dropped the charge of disclosureof identity of the victim against Maliwal under the IPC butthe case under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection ofChildren) Act still stands.
It said that the victim's parents had stated that theyhad given consent to disclose the name of their daughter afterwhich the IPC provision was dropped. It, however, said thatmaking public the name of a rape victim is an offence.
The DCW counsel had sought a court-monitored probe in thematter, saying the minor had died after the incident but thepolice have still not invoked murder charge in the FIR.
A charge sheet was earlier filed in the trial courtafter which Maliwal was summoned.
The court was hearing a plea by the DCW for quashing theFIR lodged against its chief for allegedly revealing theidentity of the minor rape victim.
The court had questioned the DCW counsel as to how thecommission could move the court for quashing of the FIR lodgedagainst its chief.
The minor girl had died in a hospital after a neighbourhad allegedly repeatedly raped her in north Delhi's Burariarea on July 23 last year and forced a corrosive substancedown her throat which damaged her internal organs.
The police had said Maliwal circulated a notice she hadsent to the area deputy commissioner of police, in which shehad sought to know about the investigation in the rape case.
The notice, which was given to the print and electronicmedia, had the name of the victim.
The FIR has alleged that the notice was "intentionallycirculated" on various WhatsApp groups and shown by TVchannels. A news channel had held the notice before the cameraduring a prime-time programme aired on July 25, it has said.
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This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.