Bhopal/Jabalpur: A writ petition, seeking to keep identity of rape accused a secret, has been accepted by Madhya Pradesh high court, which has issued notices to the Centre and state government to send their responses to the plea.The petitioners, Dr P G Najpande of MP Upbhokta Margdarshan Manch and Dr Mumtaz Ahmed Khan, a university professor, base their petition on NCRB data that says up to 75% of rape accused are acquitted. Referring to the #metoo campaign, they said that in many instances, charges of sexual assault were levelled against men, without any evidence, to “shame them”.Under Section 228(a) of IPC, the identity of a rape survivor cannot be disclosed under any circumstance. The petitioners point out that the identity of rape accused is put out in public, and even if he is acquitted or discharged by court later, he has to bear the stigma all his life. Article 15 of the Constitution says there should be no discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, colour, race or creed, so why is it that there is a clear distinction between man and woman in cases of rape clear, they ask.After preliminary arguments over merits of the petition, a division bench of Chief Justice S K Seth and Justice V K Shukla admitted the petition and issued notices to respondents (Union and state governments). Advocate Ajit Raijada appeared on behalf of the accused. The petitioners ask that the identity protection accorded to rape survivors be extended to the accused as well, unless they are convicted. They also seek an amendment in IPC to let this happen.

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