Delhi High Court Rejects Petition to Ban Media Reporting on Swati Maliwal Assault Case

The Delhi High Court has refused to entertain a petition seeking to ban media reporting on the assault case involving Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal. The division bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, reprimanded the petitioner and warned of possible action by the Bar Council of Delhi against the petitioner’s lawyer for filing such an application.

The court emphasized that since the victim, Swati Maliwal, is speaking to the media herself, there is no justification for filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to ban media reporting. The court criticized the petition as politically motivated and filed for publicity purposes. The judges noted, “The victim is talking about it. She is going to all the channels and talking about it.” The court admonished petitioner lawyer Sansar Pal Singh for filing what it described as a politically colored petition aimed at gaining publicity. The bench commented, “It is very clear that your vision is colored and blurred. You are not talking about shaming the victim. There is a political color in this petition. It is very clear. You have done this only for publicity.”

The court expressed disappointment in the actions of the petitioner, suggesting a complaint to the Bar Council might be necessary. Following this admonishment, the petitioner decided to withdraw the petition.

In his PIL, Sansar Pal Singh had expressed shock that the FIR registered in the Swati Maliwal case was being publicly broadcast on news channels and social media platforms. He sought court directions to prevent media houses from disclosing the name and identity of victims in this and other cases of sexual crime or violence.

Swati Maliwal alleged that on the morning of May 13, when she went to meet Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at his official residence, the Chief Minister’s former personal secretary, Bibhav Kumar, assaulted her. Maliwal called the Delhi Police’s helpline number 112 twice that day to report the incident. However, she did not file a written complaint at the Civil Lines police station until May 16, when she recorded her statement and filed an FIR. On May 18, the Delhi Police arrested Bibhav Kumar based on Maliwal’s complaint. Currently, Bibhav Kumar is in police custody. After being placed in judicial custody on May 24, the Delhi Police took him on a 3-day remand on May 28.