The Delhi High Court on Monday asked police to reply to a plea by Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) for quashing of an FIR lodged against its chief Swati Maliwal for allegedly revealing the identity of a 14-year-old Dalit rape victim who had succumbed to her injuries.
Justice AK Pathak also asked the police to respond to the plea which has urged it to form a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to investigate the case, while criticising the way Delhi Police has been handling the matter.
During the hearing, the bench asked senior advocate RS Cheema, appearing for DCW, as to how the Commission could approach the court for quashing of an FIR lodged against its chief.
“How can the DCW file the petition for quashing of an FIR. The FIR was lodged against an individual, who should have moved the court in individual capacity. She (Maliwal) should have filed a separate petition. How can she file through the Commission,” the judge asked.
Maintaining that they had rightly filed the petition, the counsel submitted that the FIR was wrongly lodged as under the law the name of rape victim, who was a minor, could be disclosed with the consent of the parents and in this case, the consent was obtained from the girl’s family members.