CHENNAI: Reprimanding the police department for disclosing the name of the woman advocate battling for removing her non-consensual intimate pictures and videos, uploaded on digital platforms by her ex-friend, the Madras High Court said it wants to inculcate more sensitivity in the personnel in handling cases of sexual offences.
Justice N Anand Venkatesh expressed shock over seven male police personnel sitting with the victim woman to watch the intimate videos in order to identify the perpetrator and the disclosure of her name in the FIR.
This shows the gross insensitivity on the part of the police while registering the FIR, he said, by revealing the name of the victim, they are causing more damage to the girl.“By adopting such a process, the victim girl is being shamed and she is repeatedly harassed, causing untold mental agony.
In a case of this nature, the victim girl must be accompanied only by women police officers. This is the reason why this court wants to inculcate more sensitivity in the police department while dealing with cases of this nature,” the judge said.
He sought the assistance of the state public prosecutor to bring more sensitivity in the police department to handle case of such nature. The judge ordered the police to remove the name of the victim from the FIR.When senior counsel Abudu Kumar Rajaratnam, appearing for the woman, submitted that the videos and picture have once again resurfaced in 39 sites, the judge directed the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to ensure they do not resurface.