In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court declared that bail proceedings under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act) must be video recorded, even in cases involving sexual crimes. Justice Vikas Mahajan clarified that Section 15A(10) of the SC/ST Act mandates video recording of all proceedings without any exception, including those involving sexual offences against women and minors.
The case involved Laxmi Narayan, accused of the rape and murder of a minor girl from a Scheduled Caste community. Narayan faced charges under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), and the SC/ST Act. While seeking bail, his petition was initially rejected by the Patiala House Court and later moved to the Delhi High Court.
During the hearing, the victim’s father, represented by advocate Mehmood Pracha, argued that the SC/ST Act guarantees victims the right to have proceedings video recorded. Pracha emphasized that while the law mandates video recording, it does not allow for public dissemination, thus protecting the identity of the victim in accordance with legal safeguards under the POCSO Act and IPC.
The prosecution, however, opposed this, pointing out that the POCSO Act and IPC prohibit the disclosure of a victim’s identity, suggesting this might override the video recording requirement. Pracha rebutted, asserting that Section 15A(10) of the SC/ST Act solely concerns recording, not sharing or publishing, thus ensuring both transparency in proceedings and protection of the victim’s privacy.
Justice Mahajan ultimately sided with the victim’s counsel, stating that the video recordings would be preserved for court use and not disseminated publicly, ensuring the victim’s anonymity. The court stressed that the SC/ST Act’s video recording mandate aligns with other legal protections and confirmed that the bail proceedings in this case would be recorded as required by law.
