Supreme Court Orders Wikipedia to Remove Rape-Murder Victim's Identity

The Supreme Court has instructed Wikipedia to remove the name and photograph of a resident doctor who was raped and murdered at R G Kar government hospital in Kolkata. The Court emphasized that revealing the victim's identity is against the law and violates previous court orders on privacy.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Wikipedia to immediately remove the name and photograph of the resident doctor who was raped and murdered at R G Kar government hospital in Kolkata.

Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, heading the bench, noted Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's submission that Wikipedia was still displaying the victim's name and photograph.

The Court reiterated that legal provisions explicitly prohibit revealing the identity of victims in rape and murder cases.

'For maintaining the dignity and privacy of the deceased, the governing principle is that the identity of a victim in a rape and murder case shall not be disclosed,' the bench, which also included Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, stated.

Despite a lawyer revealing Wikipedia's initial refusal to remove the content on grounds of censorship, Mehta clarified that non-disclosure of a rape victim's identity as mandated by law does not equate to censorship.

The Supreme Court had earlier ordered the removal of the trainee doctor's name, photos, and videos from all social media platforms.

Violation of Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code, as per the Court's 2018 Nipun Saxena judgement, prohibits the disclosure of the identity of sexual assault victims.

The trainee doctor, suffering severe injuries, was found dead in the hospital on August 9, following which a civic volunteer was arrested by Kolkata Police.

(With inputs from agencies.)