Editor, reporter of newspaper sent to jail, fined for publishing minor rape victim’s photo

NT Correspondent

Madikeri/Mysuru: In a recent ruling, the Second Additional District and Sessions Court in Virajpet sentenced the editor and a reporter from the ‘Cauvery Times,’ a daily newspaper in Kodagu district, to one year of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of them.

This judgment stems from their violation of the law by publishing the photograph of a minor who was a victim of rape and murder in 2019.

The case harks back to 2019 when a minor fell victim to a heinous crime, leading to the filing of a case at the Siddapur Police Station.

Subsequently, the accused in the case were apprehended and handed life imprisonment sentences. During the coverage of the case, reporter Vasanth Kumar from the ‘Cauvery Times’ included a photograph of the victim, a clear contravention of the law that prohibits disclosing the identity or image of sexual offence victims.

In July 2019, the victim’s brother lodged a complaint with the Gonikoppa Police, asserting that the publication of his sister’s photograph in the ‘Cauvery Times’ had caused considerable distress to his family.

Sub-Inspector BS Sridhar, who had led the investigation in the case, initiated proceedings against both reporter Vasanth Kumar and the daily’s editor, Nanjappa.

He subsequently submitted a chargesheet to the Second Additional District and Sessions Court in Virajpet.

On August 28, 2023, the court conducted a hearing on the matter and subsequently handed down a one-year prison sentence to the journalists, accompanied by a fine of Rs 25,000 each.

Additionally, Judge Sujatha ruled that in the event of non-payment of the fine, an additional three months of imprisonment would be imposed. In light of this judgment, the Virajpet court granted Nanjappa and Vasanth Kumar conditional bail.

It is noteworthy that reporter Vasanth Kumar had previously been fined Rs 1 lakh by the Junior Civil Court in Virajpet for disseminating false news through the newspaper.

Furthermore, a separate case had been registered against him for utilizing a counterfeit Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI) number for the publication of the daily newspaper.