The Delhi HC has warned Twitter that it can face costs of Rs 10 lakh if it does not file its response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which has sought action against media houses & social media platforms for revealing the identity of the Hyderabad rape victim.

"File an affidavit stating that you (Twitter) will not repeat it. What are you waiting for? If you aren't filing the affidavit, we will impose costs," a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel & Justice C Hari Shankar said to the social media platform.

The bench said the HC had earlier in a similar matter imposed costs of Rs 10 lakh on media houses for revealing the identity of a minor rape victim & warned, "we don't want to repeat that order".

It gave Twitter four weeks time to file its affidavit & listed the matter for further hearing on May 4.

The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by lawyer Yashdeep Chahal seeking action against certain media houses & social media platforms, like Twitter, where some individuals had revealed the identity of the Hyderabad rape victim.

Section 228A of the IPC makes disclosure of the identity of the victim of certain offences, including rape, punishable with imprisonment of a term that may extend to two years & a fine.

The petition has claimed blatant violation of Section 228A by individuals, media houses & social media platforms by publishing elaborate reports revealing the identity of the victim & the four accused in the Hyderabad rape case on various online & offline portals.

A 26-year-old doctor was allegedly raped & killed in Shamshabad, Telangana, by four men on the night of Nov 27.

According to the Cyberabad Police, the four accused punctured the rear wheel of her scooter, offered to help her, dragged her to a secluded spot close to a toll plaza & raped her.

It said the victim died due to suffocation & the accused later burnt her body. The four accused were arrested & sent to judicial custody.

They were later killed in an encounter with the police a few days after their arrest.

The petition has said the news reports elaborately disclosed the identity of the victim, including her name, picture, occupation, residence & call details.

The plea has also sought a direction to the authorities to prevent exposure of identity on online platforms, either directly or indirectly & blur the pictures which are being published. 

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