P&H High Court orders removal of accused's name from court records after exoneration in Section 498A case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently directed its registry as well as the concerned officials of district court of Ambala to remove the name of a man and his parents from the court records after quashing a criminal case against him..The First Information Report (FIR) under Section 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) of Indian Penal Code, filed on complaint of the man’s wife, was quashed in 2023 following a compromise between the parties. Since the names continued to show on the e-court website and other portals, the man moved the High Court for redaction of the same.In an order passed on September 10, Justice Namit Kumar observed that when a person has been exonerated by the Court of his alleged guilt, the remnants of such charge should not be allowed to haunt any such person.“This would be contrary to individual’s right to privacy, which includes the right to be forgotten and the right to live with dignity, guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” the Court added..Accordingly, the bench directed the High Court and trial court registries to remove the name of the petitioners from the records of all the proceedings connected to the FIR. The registries of both the courts are directed to show the name of the petitioners as ‘ABCD’, it further orderedFurther, the Court asked the petitioners to approach other portals and search engines to get the names masked.“Whenever, the petitioners apply or approach any of the social media platform or search engine, it is expected that such entities shall respect the ‘right to privacy’ and ‘right to be forgotten’ of the petitioners and shall remove any other material, which may be there on the record … wherein, the name of the petitioners are reflected,” it said.The petitioner, who runs a cybersecurity company, had submitted that he is a reputed corporate professional and works at the highest levels. It was argued that disclosure of name in such a manner on the internet was making it difficult for him to pursue business engagements..Advocate Hemant Hans represented the petitioner.Additional Advocate General Ramendra Singh Chauhan represented the State of Haryana.