The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to consider a public interest litigation (PIL) aimed at preventing the media from revealing the name of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal in reports concerning her assault case, as well as from disclosing the contents of the FIR.
A division bench, including Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora, criticized the petitioner, lawyer Sanser Pal Singh, suggesting that the plea had political motivations. The court questioned Singh’s standing in filing the PIL, noting that Maliwal herself has been discussing the case with media outlets.
“There is a political hue in this petition. It is very, very apparent. You have done this only for publicity,” remarked the bench.
Following these comments, Singh withdrew the plea.
Swati Maliwal had filed a written complaint with the Delhi Police alleging that Bibhav Kumar, a close aide of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, assaulted her during a visit to Kejriwal’s residence on May 13. Kumar was subsequently arrested on May 18.
Singh’s grievance was directed at media outlets ETV Bharat, Gujarat Samachar, and India Today, along with social media platforms Meta, X, and WhatsApp. He claimed that the FIR was being publicly circulated via these channels, newspapers, and social media.
“Disclosing the name along with the contents of such FIR certainly lowers down the dignity of a woman. In the present case, this act has been deliberately done by the respondent no. 5 to 10 and did not even care for the law and judgments/guidelines of this Hon’ble Court and the Hon’ble Apex court in this regard,” Singh’s plea stated.
The PIL also sought directives for the Union Government, Delhi Government, and media and social media platforms to refrain from revealing the name, address, or other identities of victims in sensitive cases such as rape or molestation.