[2018 Kathua rape case] Al Jazeera yet to deposit ₹10 lakh for revealing victim's identity; Delhi High Court issues fresh notice

The Delhi High Court recently issued a fresh notice to Qatar-based Al Jazeera Media Network after noting that it failed to deposit ₹10 lakh for allegedly revealing the identity of the 2018 Kathua rape and murder case.[Court On Its Own Motion v. Union of India and Ors]..When the matter was taken up on November 11, a Division Bench of Chief Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and Subramonium Prasad noted that there was no appearance for the media company. Therefore, it ordered,“There is no appearance on behalf of the Respondent No.28 (Al Jazeera). Let Court Notice be issued to Respondent No.28 positively within one week from today informing about the next date of hearing. Learned Amicus Curiae has fairly submitted that he will also make an attempt to serve the Respondents.".The matter will be heard next on February 13, 2023..The High Court has issued at least four such notices to Al Jazeera, the first dating back to 2018.However, the media organisation is yet to enter appearance or deposit the money as ordered by the Court..Records show that in its March 14, 2019 order, the Bench had stated that if the news network fails to appear on the next date, coercive action would be taken against it without issuing any further notice.Notice was again issued on May 1, 2019 and yet again on February 18, 2020, when the Court also directed the Centre government to provide Al Jazeera’s proper address.“Respondent no.28 (Al Jazeera) is operating and broadcasting their channel in India; therefore, we direct respondent no.1/Union of India to provide proper address of respondent no.28 within a week from today. Court notice without process fee be issued to respondent no. 28, returnable on 17th March, 2020,” the Bench had said in that order..Back in April 2018, the High Court took suo motu cognizance of the coverage of the Kathua rape case by the media. It named nearly two dozen networks and publications including NDTV, CNN-News 18, Times of India and Hindustan Times, among others, for violating norms and provisions of the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act that call for safeguarding the identity of minor victims.It directed these media companies to deposit ₹10 lakh each with the High Court. This amount was to be later transferred to the Jammu & Kashmir State Legal Services Authority for disbursement to the victims and families of deceased victims of sexual violence.Almost every news outlet has paid the amount..Senior Advocates Arvind Nigam and Rajshekhar Rao, assisted by Advocate Areeb Amanullah, appeared as amici curiae in the matter.Advocates Monika Arora, Yash Tyagi, Shivam Raghuvanshi Bhagya Ajith and Sajan K Singh appeared for various respondents. .[Read Order]