New Delhi: After the Karnataka high court issued an order barring the police from revealing the identities of suspects or accused who are under investigation, the Bengaluru police have started leaving out names and are using blurred photographs in their press releases.
According to the Indian Express, recent press releases issued by the city police regarding the arrest of alleged drug peddlers and those involved in counterfeit money – which usually contain photographs and names – have not revealed the identity of the accused.
The newspaper says this is a direct consequence of the June 15 order issued by the Karnataka high court, directing the police against identifying suspects or giving out information to the media of the material collected during the investigation.
According to the Times of India, a division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka said the police frequently claimed before the media that they have a strong case against the accused or that the accused had confessed. Such a move, the court said, would not only hamper the bail applications of the accused, but also the trial.
While the government’s advocate had earlier informed the high court that several circulars have been issued preventing investigating officers from disclosing any information about pending cases.
The court, however, asked the state government to formulate comprehensive guidelines and posted the matter for hearing on July 20.
“The other direction will have to be regarding prohibition on disclosing the identity of the complainant and the accused,” the bench said, according to the Indian Express. It said if punitive action is not enforced against police officers who are violating these directions, the purpose of the directions is not served.
The order was passed in a public interest litigation filed by an advocate, H. Nagabhushan Rao. The PIL said that in the past few years, videos of ministers, accused in various, had gone viral in the past couple of years. He sought a direction to police not to leak information collected during investigation regarding any case to either the media or the public.
According to the Indian Express, even though the Bengaluru police have started implementing the order, there is concern in some quarters that if details of persons arrested or under investigation is not divulged through official channels, it could lead to speculation.