Court rejects request for restraining order on public, social media statements

A court in Pune on Thursday rejected an application seeking a restraining order against the public and social media statements that could lead to the character assassination of the Swargate bus rape survivor reported news agency PTIA lawyer had moved the application claiming that a fake narrative was being run to malign the woman who was allegedly raped by a historysheeter inside a state transport bus at the busy bus station in the city last monthThe lawyer Asim Sarode urged the court to restrain public and social media statements that could lead to the womans character assassination reported PTIJudicial Magistrate First Class Judge T S Gaigole rejected the application noting that the court was not the appropriate authority to issue such an orderThe judge said as per section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita BNSS a district magistrate or a subdivisional magistrate or any other executive magistrate specially empowered by the state government can issue an order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger reported PTIThis court is not the said authority having been empowered under section 163 of BNSS to issue an order in urgent cases of nuisance and therefore this application is not maintainable the judge said reported PTILater Sarode said since the district collector has the authority to issue such a restraining order an application has been submitted to Pune Collector Jitendra DudiA 26yearold woman working in the health sector was allegedly raped by Dattatray Gade 37 who faces half a dozen cases inside a stationary state transport bus at Swargate depot in the early hours of February 25 reported PTIAfter a massive hunt involving drones sniffer dogs and several policemen Gade was tracked down to an agriculture field near his native Gunat village under Shirur tehsil of Pune district on February 28 A court subsequently remanded in police custody till March 12Fake narrative being spread about bus rape case victim Court toldA lawyer representing the Pune rape case victim told a court on Tuesday that some fake narrative was being spread about the woman and sought a restraining order against public and social media statements that could lead to her character assassinationAsim Sarode a lawyer representing the Pune rape case victim said that while seeking a restraining order he told the court how a fake narrative was being spread about the victim that she knew the accused already had taken money from him and it was a consensual act between them reported PTIWe explained to the court about these fake narratives about the victim and sought that a restraining order against public and social media statements be passed by the court he saidWith inputs from PTI