RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court on Tuesday issued notices to federal ministries of information and interior, chairman PEMRA, chairman PTA and chief secretaries of all the four provinces to submit comments in response to a plea seeking to prohibit media from disclosure of identity of rape victims.

Resuming hearing of the plea over non-disclosure of identity of rape victims, a single-member bench of Justice Athar Minallah issued directives to Pemra for enforcing media Code of Conduct to prohibit disclosure of identity of rape victims to comply with the laws.

Appearing before the bench, the petitioner, Advocate Sharafat A Chaudhry, argued that disclosure of identity of the victims of rape through publication of their names, photos, or other details is violation of Section 8 and 16 Electronic Media Code of Conduct, 2015 and is also liable to charged under section 376A of Pakistan Penal Code, so respondents should create awareness among public at large regarding the law.

Sharafat Chaudhry pleaded that code of conduct for media requires that extreme caution shall be exercised in handling themes, plots or scenes that depict sex offence and violence, including rape and other sexual assaults to avoid secondary victimization of the victims.

The petitioner, who had also contributed in drafting Criminal Law (Amendment) Offences Relating to Rape Act, 2016, said if identity of a rape victim is disclosed without permission of the victim, parents, officer in-charge of the police station or investigation officer or order of the court in writing, the act shall be liable for punishment up to three years imprisonment and fine under Section 376 A of Pakistan Penal Code.

The petitioners submitted that though professional and sensitive media coverage of case of victims can be helpful and in some cases even healing but if it is done with insensitive, voyeuristic and uncaring manner then it can cause multiple sufferings for the victim and her family resulting in irreparable emotional and psychological loss.

The petition was filed by advocates Sharafat A Chaudhry and Umer Sajjad Chaven under Article 199 of the Constitution after the recent heinous crime against a minor girl in Kasur who was abducted, raped and brutally murdered.

The court has been requested that Ministry of Information, PEMRA and PTA may be directed to take measures against those newspapers, TV channels and social media users who violate the law in addition to making sure that print and electronic media will not disclose identity of victim of rape, except as provided under law.

The petitioners have prayed that federal ministries of information and interior, chairman PEMRA, chairman PTA and chief secretaries of all the four provinces be directed to create awareness among the masses regarding laws on the subject in order to provide protection to the victims because such publications amount secondary victimization of rape victims.

After hearing the arguments in the matter, the single-member bench of the IHC sought comments from the respondents within two weeks.