Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 27
Amid allegations of sexual harassment against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, a PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking guidelines to protect the identity and reputation of those accused of sexual offences till completion of probe.
Filed by the Youth Bar Association of India through its national president Sanpreet Singh Ajmani, the petition sought to highlight that “a person is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt”.
Noting that currently protection of identity, reputation and integrity was only available to the victim of a sexual offence, the petition pointed out that an accused might have been falsely or maliciously implicated in a case and it was important to have some safeguards until the probe into the “truthfulness” of such allegations was over.
Maintaining that the right to reputation was an integral part of right to life and liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, the PIL said baseless allegations of sexual harassment tarnished the image, repute and goodwill of a person in society, adversely affecting his life in all terms even if he later was found to be innocent.
Ajmani requested the top court to frame certain guidelines like it did in Vishaka and others versus State of Rajasthan (1997) to protect the integrity of victims of sexual harassment and social stigma.
“It is true that the Constitution of India has guaranteed its citizens the right to free speech but it doesn’t mean that it shall be misinterpreted and consequently anyone can be defamed,” he contended.
Citing the case of scientist S Nambi Narayanan – who was falsely implicated in an espionage case and was later given a clean chit – the petitioner said the ISRO scientist had to fight a protracted legal battle to salvage his reputation.
Narayanan was awarded Rs 50 lakh as compensation by the Supreme Court and awarded Padma Bhushan by the government, but the petitioner said no amount of compensation could restore what he had lost in the process.
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2VofF11
via Today’s News Headlines
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