A special court here has directed the Lucknow police commissioner and eight other police personnel to appear before it for allegedly making public the identity of a juvenile apprehended in connection with a case of fraud.
The court fixed April 4 for appearance of these police personnel.
Judge Vijendra Tripathi passed the order on Tuesday on a complaint filed by Sunil Kumar, who is ‘peshkar’ (reader) of the Juvenile Justice Board.
Kumar had filed the complaint on the instructions of the board as it had been apprised that the police personnel had willingly disclosed the identity of the juvenile on the Facebook wall of Lucknow police commissioner.
It was apprised to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court that the accused was held by the police in a fraud case and was produced in the court which referred the matter to the Juvenile Justice Board after learning that he was a juvenile.
Kumar said in the court that despite the accused being a juvenile, his identity was disclosed on the Facebook wall of the Lucknow police commissioner on February 7 and 8, based on which several newspapers and news channels broadcast the news.
The court was informed that the act of the police was “totally illegal” and against the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.
