Madras High Court Slams Cops for Naming Sexual Offence Victim, Warns of Contempt Action

The Madras High Court on June 19, 2025, pulled up the Chennai police for revealing the identity of a sexual offence victim in official records, warning that such violations could invite contempt proceedings against the entire department.

The bench of Justice P. Velmurugan was hearing a petition filed by Sakthivel Ganesan seeking a direction to expedite the charge sheet in a criminal case under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 4 of the TN Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act.

While the police informed the court that the charge sheet had already been filed via e-filing on May 12, 2025, the court took note of a far more serious concern — the public disclosure of the victim’s name in the FIR.

Court noted that despite clear directions from the Supreme Court of India and legal provisions barring the disclosure of identities in cases involving sexual assault — especially under Section 376 IPC — investigating officers were routinely ignoring these safeguards.

The law itself says that the identity of the victims... should not be revealed. But the Investigating Officers are not following either the law or the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the judge observed in the order.

Reacting sharply to the violation, the court directed both the Director General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, Greater Chennai, to immediately issue strict instructions to all officers. Any further breach, it warned, would attract strict judicial consequences.

“If any deviation is found, the entire police department would be held responsible,” the court said, adding that it would not hesitate to initiate suo motu contempt proceedings in such cases.

In addition, the Inspector of the concerned police station was ordered to immediately remove the name of the victim from the FIR and other related records.

Case Title: Sakthivel Ganesan vs. Inspector of Police, Chennai

Download order here