{"id":6573,"date":"2025-07-22T11:03:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T11:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/?p=6573"},"modified":"2025-07-22T11:08:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T11:08:51","slug":"protecting-identities-a-police-officers-operational-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/protecting-identities-a-police-officers-operational-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting Identities: A Police Officer’s Operational Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Safeguarding Victims and Juveniles in Conflict with Law<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Category<\/td>\nKey Law<\/td>\nConfidentiality Provision<\/td>\nPenalty for Breach<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Sexual Offence Victims<\/strong><\/td>\nBNS, 2023 – Sec. 72<\/td>\nBan on identity disclosure for Sec. 64 – 71 offences<\/td>\nUp to 2 yrs’ imprisonment + fine<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Child Sexual Abuse Victims<\/strong><\/td>\nPOCSO Act, 2012 – Sec. 23<\/td>\nIdentity disclosure prohibited except by court in best interest<\/td>\n6 months – 1 yr imprisonment \/ fine \/ both<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Juvenile Victims<\/strong><\/td>\nJJ Act, 2015 – Sec. 74<\/td>\nIdentity protection in all media and communications<\/td>\nUp to 6 months’ imprisonment \/ \u20b92L fine \/ both<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Child in Conflict with Law (minor accused)<\/strong><\/td>\nJJ Act, 2015 – Sec. 74<\/td>\nNo name, photo, address or school may be revealed<\/td>\nUp to 6 months’ imprisonment \/ \u20b92L fine \/ both<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Acid Attack Survivors<\/strong><\/td>\nSC rulings (Laxmi v. Union of India); Article 21<\/td>\nJudicial mandates demand anonymity for dignity and safety<\/td>\nBNS Sec. 72 or court sanctions may apply<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Trafficking Victims<\/strong><\/td>\nPOCSO, JJ Act, BNS<\/td>\nMulti-law protection; strictest for children<\/td>\nBNS Sec. 72, POCSO Sec. 23, JJ Sec. 74<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Domestic Violence Victims<\/strong><\/td>\nDV Act, 2005 – Sec. 16<\/td>\nIn-camera proceedings recommended; privacy ensured<\/td>\nNo direct penalty; BNS Sec. 72 may apply in case of sexual violence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
POSH Victims<\/strong><\/td>\nPOSH Act, 2013 – Sec. 16<\/td>\nIdentity disclosure barred in all formats<\/td>\n\u20b95,000 fine + disciplinary action<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cybercrime Victims<\/strong><\/td>\nIT Act, 2000 \u2013 Sec. 66E, 67, 67A, 66C, 66D<\/td>\nProtects against misuse of private images, impersonation, or explicit content<\/td>\nBNS Sec. 72 may apply along with penal Sections under IT Act<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Honour-Based Crime Victims<\/strong><\/td>\nSC rulings (Shakti Vahini v. Union of India); Article 21<\/td>\nVictim details protected via judicial and constitutional safeguards<\/td>\nBNS Sec. 72 or court sanctions may apply<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Best Practices for Officers:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Use coded identifiers (e.g., \u201cVictim A\u201d, \u201cChild X\u201d)<\/li>\n
  • Mark documents as Confidential<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Conduct interviews and statements in-camera<\/li>\n
  • Never share identifiable info via unauthorized channels<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Note:<\/strong> Along with police officers, the media<\/strong>, the general public, and other professionals are also mandated to protect the identity of such victims.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Safeguarding Victims and Juveniles in Conflict with Law Category Key Law Confidentiality Provision Penalty for Breach Sexual Offence Victims BNS, 2023 – Sec. 72 Ban on identity disclosure for Sec. 64 – 71 offences Up to 2 yrs’ imprisonment + fine Child Sexual Abuse Victims POCSO Act, 2012 – Sec. 23 Identity disclosure prohibited except<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"two_page_speed":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[28],"class_list":{"0":"post-6573","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-juvenile-law","7":"tag-top-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6573\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalserviceindia.com\/Legal-Articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}