The Mumbai-based tabloid Midday received a notice from the Bombay High Court on December 20 asking why no action should be taken against the publisher, editor, and reporter for publishing the identity of a kid who had been charged with a crime. 

Justice Prithviraj Chavan and Justice Revati Mohite Dere, sitting as a divisional bench, stated:

“ We have perused the photocopy of the said article, so tendered. Having regard to the fact, that Mid-Day has published the name of the child as well as the photographs of the child, in contravention of Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015, we deem it appropriate to issue notice to the scribe of the said article – Shirish Vaktania, the Publisher and Editor of Mid-Day, as to why suo-motu action should not be initiated against them.”

The Juvenile Justice Act of 2015's Section 74 forbids revealing a child's identity who is in legal trouble. Mid-Day was ordered by the court to respond to the notice by February 1st, 2023. 

On October 20, 2022, the court dismissed a FIR filed against a 9-year-old child for inadvertently hitting a woman while riding a bicycle under Section 338 of the IPC (causing great bodily harm by risking life or personal safety of others). The youngster was frightened by the FIR, the court had noted. 

In a hearing to determine if the October 20 order had been followed, the complainant's attorney, Viresh Purwant, informed the court that Mid-Day had violated Section 74 of the Act by publishing the young boy's name and images in its story.

Case Title: ABC v. State of Maharashtra and Anr.
Case no.: Criminal Writ Petition No. 3062 of 2022

Link: https://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/generatepdf.php?bhcpar=cGF0aD0uL3dyaXRlcmVhZGRhdGEvZGF0YS9jcmltaW5hbC8yMDIyLyZmbmFtZT0yMzA4MDAwMzA2MjIwMjJfMTAucGRmJnNtZmxhZz1OJnJqdWRkYXRlPSZ1cGxvYWRkdD0yMy8xMi8yMDIyJnNwYXNzcGhyYXNlPTA2MDEyMzEyNDQyMA==