The lawyer of accused MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar had urged the court for a complete media gag.A Delhi court on Wednesday directed the media to not report names and addresses of the Unnao rape victim, her family members and witnesses in the case.
District Judge Dharmesh Sharma issued several guidelines on reporting, restraining the media from reporting on testimonies of witnesses and merits of the case, among others.
Advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir, appearing for the accused — expelled Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar — urged the court to issue orders for a “complete media gag on covering the court proceedings”.
The CBI’s counsel, Ashok Bhartendu, called for restraint on discussing the merits of the case.
District Judge Sharma thereafter issued a set of six measures for the media:
* “Media is restrained as also refrained from reporting the names and addresses of the family members of the victim/survivor, name of victim/survivor as also the complainant and other witnesses cited and to be examined during proceedings/ trial.”
* “Media shall not cover and exclude part of the proceedings as and when any specific directions are passed by the court.”
* “Media shall refrain from reporting testimony of any witness, wholly or partly, and refrain from appreciating such evidence or giving any opinion on the merits of the case.”
* “Mediapersons shall not record the proceedings in audio-video mode inside or outside the courtroom.”
CBI officials after meeting victim’s family in Lucknow. (Express photo: Vishal Srivastav/File)As for the other two measures, the court said that access is allowed to one journalist of each national daily, and reporters news agencies PTI and UNI, besides other national dailies, should share their reports with representatives of other newspapers and members of the electronic media.
The court proceedings began on Wednesday with the CBI counsel reading out the Sections in which Sengar and a co-accused were accused of, starting out the arguments on charge.
Sengar’s counsel Mir argued on the age of the victim, and the matter was adjourned after he could not complete his arguments.
Police and people near the wreckage of the car in which Unnao rape survivor was travelling. (Source: PTI/File)On Tuesday, the court had asked the CBI for a status report on the victim, following which the counsel handed over a sealed envelope to the judge containing measures taken for boarding, lodging and other aspects of the family members of the victim. The judge noted that it appears there are no “concerns” or issues from them as of now.
The court also directed the investigating officer to ensure that “a provision be made of some nominal amount towards daily allowance, so that the family members are not left hard of cash for their daily needs”.
