The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday ordered notice to the High Court Registry on an appeal filed by a man, acquitted of all charges, seeking to redact his name from the judgment copy to protect his Right to Privacy.
He preferred the appeal against a Single Bench order that dismissed his plea seeking the relief and held that in the absence of statutory backing, the court could not issue such directions.
The Single Bench observed that it would be appropriate to await the enactment of the Data Protection Act and Rules which might provide an objective criterion while dealing with the plea for redacting names of accused persons acquitted of criminal charges.
A Division Bench of Justices Pushpa Sathyanarayana and P. Velmurugan sought response from the Registry on the appeal. Earlier, the petitioner was sentenced by the trial court for cheating and rape. On appeal, the High Court acquitted him of all charges.
