The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted time to Police to file their response on a plea seeking registration of an FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The plea alleges that Gandhi revealed the identity of a Dalit girl who was raped and murdered in 2021 by posting a photo of her with her parents on the social media platform X.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that Gandhi committed a serious offense, but the Delhi Police had not yet registered an FIR.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna asked the Delhi Police to file a status report in 10 days and listed the matter for further hearing on December 21, 2023.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) emphasized that there are no exceptions to the law protecting the identity of minor victims of sexual offenses, and police must register an FIR and take consequential action.
Gandhi’s lawyer stated that no formal notice had been issued to him on the PIL.
The petitioner’s counsel alleged that the social media platform X was trying to protect Gandhi, as the post was made unavailable only in India.
The petition was filed in 2021, seeking an FIR against Gandhi for allegedly revealing the identity of the minor Dalit girl through a photograph on X.
On 1st August, 2021, the girl died under suspicious circumstances, with her parents alleging rape, murder, and cremation by a crematorium priest in southwest Delhi.
The NCPCR stated that Gandhi’s conduct violated the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and forwarded the complaint to Delhi Police and X for necessary action.
On October 5, 2021, a bench led by the then Chief Justice DN Patel had issued notice to X, formerly known as Twitter, on the petition alleging that Gandhi was “attempting to take political mileage out of the unfortunate incident.” At that stage, the court had declined to issue notice to other respondents, namely Gandhi, the Delhi Police, and NCPCR, in the public interest litigation (PIL). The plea also sought the initiation of appropriate legal action against Gandhi by the NCPCR.
