Supreme Court orders Wikipedia to remove victim’s name and photo

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia to remove the photograph and name of the resident doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar government hospital.

A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud took note of the submission of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who said that Wikipedia still contained the name and photograph of the victim.

The Supreme Court said that the provisions of the law make it very clear that the identity of the victim in cases of rape and murder cannot be revealed.

“In the interest of maintaining the dignity and privacy of the deceased, the guiding principle is that the identity of the victim in a case of rape and murder should not be disclosed.

“Wikipedia will take steps to comply with the earlier order,” the court, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said.

At the hearing, a lawyer said that when Wikipedia was ordered to remove the victim’s name and photo, she refused, saying she “couldn’t be censored.” Mehta said the law requires that a rape victim’s identity not be disclosed and that this does not constitute censorship.

The Supreme Court had earlier ordered removal of the name, photos and videos of the intern doctor, who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, from all social media platforms.

She said disclosing the identity of a sexual assault victim was a violation of the order in the Nipun Saxena case.

In its 2018 judgment in the Nipun Saxena case, the Supreme Court had said: “No person can print or publish on paper, electronically, on social media, etc. the name of the victim or even remotely disclose facts that could lead to the identification of the victim and should make his identity known to the general public.” The body of the trainee doctor, with severe injury marks, was found in the seminar room of the thoracic ward of the hospital on August 9.

A civic volunteer was arrested by Kolkata police the next day for his alleged involvement in the rape and murder incident.