The Delhi High Court recently ruled that all proceedings, including bail hearings, under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 (SC/ST Act) must be video recorded, even if they involve sexual crimes against women and children.
Justice Vikas Mahajan explained that Section 15A(10) of the SC/ST Act requires video recording of all proceedings and does not exclude sexual offences. The court emphasized that the law does not provide any exceptions for these types of crimes, and the intent is to ensure transparency and protection of victims.
The case involved a bail petition from Laxmi Narayan, accused of raping and murdering a minor girl from a scheduled caste community. He faced charges under various laws, including the SC/ST Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The complainant’s lawyer argued that Section 15A(10) mandates video recording for all related proceedings to protect the victim’s rights.
Opposing the argument, the Additional Public Prosecutor and the accused’s counsel claimed that video recording could compromise the victim’s privacy, citing laws that prohibit disclosing a victim’s identity. They argued that Section 15A(10) should not override these protections.
However, the court ruled that Section 15A(10) is clear and includes bail proceedings. It noted that while video recordings are required, they should not be disseminated to protect the victim’s identity. The recordings will be preserved for court use, and any release would require specific court orders.
The court concluded that there is no conflict between recording proceedings under Section 15A(10) and protecting the victim’s anonymity as mandated by other laws. Thus, the court ordered that all relevant proceedings be video recorded.
