New Delhi | The Delhi High Court on Wednesday observed that as per law, a victim of a sexual offense is not required to be made a party to any criminal proceedings initiated by the state government or the accused. “There is no requirement in law to make the victim a party, that is, to make the victim a party to any criminal proceedings, whether instituted by the State or by the accused,” the court said.
Citing a recent Supreme Court judgment (Jagjit Singh and others vs. Ashish Mishra et al. Monu and others), Justice Anoop Jairam Bhambhani observed that even though the victim now has an ‘unfettered participation right’ in all criminal proceedings, she There is no reason to make a party, unless specifically provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Talking about the proceedings related to bail, the court noted that Section 439(1A) of CrPC says that a victim need not become a party to file a petition.
The judge observed: “In the light of the Supreme Court’s judgment in Jagjit Singh (supra), section 439(1A) of CrPC should be expanded to include the right of the victim to be heard even in petitions where a The accused seeks anticipatory bail. A convict seeks suspension of sentence, parole, furlough or other such interim relief.”
Justice Bhambani was hearing the bail plea of an accused, who has been in custody since the registration of an FIR under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POSCO) Act.
The court directed its Registry to carefully scrutinize all filings relating to sexual offenses and ensure that the anonymity and confidentiality of the victim or victims is strictly maintained.
Name, parents, address, social media credentials and photographs of the victim or victim are some of the details that should not be revealed in the filing, which also includes the memo to the parties.
The Court observed: “Though, if the foregoing direction is scrupulously followed, the identifying particulars shall not appear in the cause-list, the Registry shall, through utmost care, ensure that such particulars do not appear in any cause-list.” not be reflected in any way.
The court directed that files or paper books of cases relating to sexual offenses filed in the High Court should not be provided to any person after proper verification of identity certificates of the parties to the litigation.
The court said, “It is also directed to prevent dissemination of identity details to any other person or agency even within the High Court that all services effected on the prosecutrix/victim/survivor shall be done only through the Investigating Officer on 24.09. .2019 dated Practice Directions and a copy of the petition or application shall be served on the prosecutrix/victim/survivor.”
The investigating officers were directed by the court to wear only plain clothes while dealing with such cases to avoid any unwanted attention on the prosecutrix or the victim.
The court also directed the Registrar General to bring this decision to the notice of the Chief Justice, so that appropriate practice guidelines or notices or notifications may be framed.
