Delhi High Court: A PIL was initiated by Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar, a social activist seeking legal action and the registration of an FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi aimed to address the alleged disclosure of the identity of a minor girl involved in a heinous crime. A Division Bench of Manmohan, CJ and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, J., held that considering that tweet stands deleted, the prayers mentioned in the writ petition stands satisfied.
A nine-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered by a priest inside a crematorium in Delhi Cantonment in 2021. An initial FIR was registered in August 2021 against accused persons under the Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The charges are yet to be framed, and the case is pending trial. Rahul Gandhi had met the victim’s family and posted a picture on ‘X’ formerly called ‘Twitter’. Delhi Police stated that an FIR was registered in September 2021 against Rahul Gandhi based on a complaint received by the Registrar of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
Last month, the Delhi Police stated in court that the minor victim died of electrocution, and there was no scientific evidence to suggest rape and murder. However, during the recent court proceedings, the police opposed the discussion on the matter, arguing that the petitioner had no locus to delve into the case’s merits in a PIL.
Rahul Gandhi informed the Delhi High Court that he has taken down the tweet from 2021 that allegedly disclosed the identity and sensitive details about a minor girl. The court found that the prayers mentioned in the petition were satisfied and closed the matter.
The Court held “Keeping in view the aforesaid facts, the prayers mentioned in the writ petition stand satisfied.”
[Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar v. Rahul Gandhi, W.P.(C) 8210/2021 ,decided on 24-01-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Mr. Mahesh Jethmalani, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Pavan Narang, Mr. Neeraj, Mr. Ravi Sharma, Mr. Prem T.Mishra, Mr. Anjani Kumar Rai, Mr. Siddharth Handa, Mr. Himanshu Sethi and Ms. Aishwarya Chhabra, Advocates. Mr. Umesh Sharma and Mr. Sumeet Chaudhry, Advocates for petitioners
Ms. Tarannum Cheema, Mr. Akshay N., Mr. Akash Singh and Mr. Kuber Boddh, Advocates for R-1. Ms. Swarupama Chaturvedi, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Abhaid Parikh, Mr. Kartik Rathi, Mr. Aayush Shivam and Mr. Tanishq Tyagi, Advocates for R-2/NCPCR Mr. Santosh Kumar Tripathi, SC, GNCTD with Mr. Arun Panwar, Mr. Pradyumn Rao, Mr. Utkarsh Singh, Mr. Kartik Sharma, Ms. Prashansa Sharma, Mr. Rishabh Srivastava and Ms. Nikita Vir, Advocates for GNCTD. Ms. Shloka Narayanan and Mr. Abhishek Kumar, Advocates for R-4, X. Corp. Mr. Mehmood Pracha, Mr. Harshit S. Gahlot, Mr. Jatin Bhatt and Mr. Mohd. Shameem, Advocates for respondents
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