Kerala High Court, in a move to safeguard privacy and dignity, issued an interim order directing the Registry to promptly remove the name and details of a lady linked to a matrimonial appeal from the court's website.

''Given the sensitivity of the matter and its impact on the petitioner's reputation and dignity, I instruct R5 to anonymize the judgment by excluding her name and address'' the bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran directed.

Case Brief -

The petitioner, a prominent dentist based in the Middle East, sought the court's assistance in removing her personal information from both the court's website and Indian Kanoon. The disputes between the involved parties were amicably resolved in the context of a matrimonial appeal through a mediation agreement. This agreement mutually consented to the dissolution of their marriage."

She argued that the online presence of the judgment, which included her and her minor daughter's personal information, significantly impacted their dignity and reputation within society

Emphasizing that a search of the petitioner's name on search engines like Google or Yahoo would yield details from the judgment, she highlighted the detrimental effect this had on her image.

 She referenced the case of Vyskh K.G. v Union of India (2023), wherein the masking of parties' names in family, matrimonial, child custody, and adoption cases was permitted, citing the 'right to be forgotten' as grounds for this request."

Another plea was recently submitted to the court, requesting the masking of names in a judgment available on both the High Court website and Indian Kanoon. This case involved disputes that were resolved between the parties, followed by the quashing of criminal proceedings.

The petitioner was represented by Advocate Boby M Sekhar