A PERSON WHO IS ACQUITTED OF ALL CHARGES IS ENTITLED TO REDACT HIS NAME FROM COURT ORDERS - MADRAS HC

The Madras HC recently observed that a person who is acquitted of all charges is entitled to redact his name from court orders in order to protect his privacy.

 
The Petitioner moved a plea before the HC seeking to redact his name from the Court's order after his acquittal of offences u/s 417 (cheating) and 376 (rape) of the IPC. The Petitioner argued that he could no longer be identified as an accused in the eye of law. Justice N Anand Venkatesh found prima facie merit in his case and is entitled to get his name redacted from the judgment. The Court further called the response of concerned authorities such as members of the bar regarding the same issue.

The Court went on to observe that under the prevailing law, only the victim (women and children) are kept confidential, and therefore their names do not reflect in the judgments. However, such protection is not available to people who are acquitted of their charges.

The court placed reliance on a recent Delhi HC's judgment in similar circumstances. "It is informed that a new right called the right to be forgotten sought to l be included in the list of rights under Article 21 of the constitution".

The Hon'ble HC also observed that in today's generation, first impressions are often created on the information found on Google, even if it's not authentic. Based on the information provided, a person's character is judged. 
 

The matter will be heard on 28th July 2021

Author: Papiha Ghoshal