Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has informed the Delhi High Court that he will delete a tweet containing purportedly sensitive details about a minor girl allegedly raped and murdered in 2021. The court heard a plea seeking an FIR against Gandhi for revealing the identity of the nine-year-old victim.
Gandhi's counsel made this commitment during a hearing before a division bench. The Delhi Police's counsel informed the court that the petition was now infructuous as requested actions had been fulfilled. The ongoing investigation clarified that the cause of the minor victim's death was electrocution, with no scientific evidence supporting claims of rape and murder.
Advocate Mehmood Pracha, representing the victim's family, urged the court to avoid openly discussing case details to preserve the trial's integrity. Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, representing the petitioner, argued that regardless of crime proof, disclosing the minor's identity constituted an offense under the POCSO Act.
The court directed Delhi Police to submit a detailed status report on the investigation into Gandhi within four weeks, in a sealed cover. The next hearing is scheduled for January 24, 2024.
A nine-year-old girl had died under suspicious circumstances in August 2021, with her parents alleging rape, murder, and cremation by a crematorium's priest in Delhi. Social activist Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar had moved a plea in 2021, alleging that Gandhi had violated laws prohibiting the identification of sexually assaulted minors.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has urged the Delhi Police to register an FIR. It contends that Twitter's decision to geo-block the post does not fully comply with its obligations and contributes to the violation of the victim's identity.
Sajan Poovayya, a senior lawyer representing Twitter, argued that the contested post has been "geo-blocked" and is currently inaccessible in India. However, the petitioner and the NCPCR's counsel insisted that the offense still exists.
(With Agency Inputs)
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