Section 228A IPC: Disclosure of Identity of Victim of Certain Offences

Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 protected the identity of victims of specified sexual offences. It prohibited publication of the victim's name or other material capable of revealing the victim's identity, subject to limited statutory exceptions.

What did Section 228A IPC prohibit?

Section 228A restricted printing or publishing the name of a person against whom specified sexual offences were alleged or found to have been committed. The restriction also extended to publishing any matter that could make the victim's identity known.

Immediately before the replacement of the IPC, the provision operated in relation to the specified rape and sexual-offence provisions in the IPC, including Sections 376, 376A, 376AB, 376B, 376C, 376D, 376DA, 376DB and 376E.

Essential ingredients of the offence

• There must be printing or publication of a name or other identifying matter.
• The information must identify, or be capable of making known the identity of, the victim of an offence covered by Section 228A.
• The publication must not fall within a statutory exception.

The protection is not confined merely to withholding the victim's name. Information that indirectly enables the public to identify the victim may also defeat the purpose of the provision.

Punishment under Section 228A(1) IPC

A person who printed or published prohibited identifying information was punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which could extend to two years and fine.

Exceptions under Section 228A(2) IPC

The statutory prohibition was subject to specific exceptions. Publication was not an offence where it was made:

• by or under the written order of the officer-in-charge of the police station or the police officer making the investigation, acting in good faith for the purposes of the investigation;
• by, or with the written authorisation of, the victim; or
• where the victim was dead or a minor or of unsound mind, by or with the written authorisation of the victim's next of kin, subject to the statutory restriction concerning recognised welfare institutions or organisations.

For the last category, the provision restricted authorisation by the next of kin to the chairman or secretary, by whatever name called, of a recognised welfare institution or organisation. Such an institution or organisation meant one recognised for that purpose by the Central Government or a State Government.

Publication of court proceedings - Section 228A(3)

Section 228A(3) separately dealt with publication of material relating to court proceedings concerning an offence referred to in sub-section (1). Printing or publishing such matter without the previous permission of the court was punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term extending to two years and fine.

The statutory explanation clarified that publication of a judgment of a High Court or the Supreme Court did not itself constitute an offence under Section 228A.

Supreme Court protection of victim identity

The Supreme Court in Nipun Saxena v. Union of India emphasized that protection is wider than simply removing the victim's name. Print, electronic and social-media publication should not disclose facts from which the victim can be identified. This approach reflects the object of Section 228A: preserving the privacy and dignity of victims of sexual offences.

Nature of offence before BNS

Arunachal Pradesh State Amendment

The source page records the Arunachal Pradesh amendment to Section 228A(1), made by Arunachal Pradesh Act 3 of 2019. It modified the listed sexual-offence provisions for the application of Section 228A within the State. State amendments should therefore be checked where a matter concerns the territorial operation of a particular State amendment.

Why Section 228A was important

The provision sought to prevent further harm to victims of sexual offences through public identification. Its protection applied not only to conventional newspapers and printed reports but, consistently with the Supreme Court's interpretation, to disclosures through electronic and social media capable of identifying the victim.

Related IPC provisions

For the broader statutory context, see the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and related provisions listed alongside this article.

Note: This page explains the historical IPC position immediately before commencement of the BNS. For a pending or fact-specific matter, the applicable law may depend on the date of the alleged offence and other transitional provisions.