ACB withdraws order not to reveal identities of accused

JAIPUR: After facing a severe backlash over the past three days, the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on Friday withdrew its controversial order to conceal identities of those accused in bribery cases by vaguely citing a Supreme Court statement.
Acting DG (ACB) Hemant Priyadarshy confirmed to TOI that he has withdrawn the order that was issued on Wednesday. "I have withdrawn the order and informed my field officers about the same," he said.
Soon after, in a press statement about a bribery trap in Sikar, the ACB mentioned the name and identity of an accused patwari arrested on Friday. The ACB's volte-face came after CM Ashok Gehlot dropped a hint of disapproval when he said he would get the order examined following media queries in Udaipur on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the bureau had directed all its chowki and unit in-charges to stop revealing the names and providing photographs of those arrested taking bribes, referring to the need to protect the "human rights" of the accused and suspects in its custody.
It cited news reports of 2014 in which the Supreme Court had said that security agencies should stop parading the accused before the media. It was later found that the apex court had made only an observation and that it was not an order.
The SC case ACB cited for its diktat was a criminal appeal related to the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) vs the State of Maharashtra case of 1999.
PUCL president Kavita Shrivastava contested the ACB claim and said the SC had directed the Centre in 2017 to prepare fresh guidelines on media briefings by police that take into consideration the rights of the accused and ensure their rights were not unfairly compromised.
Shrivastava said there has been no hearing on the matter since and no guidelines have been framed. She urged ACB not to use PUCL to justify its diktat. The ambiguity over the SC's observation had made it difficult for ACB to explain its order.
ACB's first arrest after this order was made in Sikar district, where a patwari, identified as Hansraj, was arrested for allegedly taking a bribe. ACB later provided the details.