The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed that the name of the complainant woman in a gangrape case against Haryana BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli and and Haryanvi singer Jai Bhagwan, must not be disclosed in public domain, including the e-court portal.
Justice Ajay Mohan Goel passed the order Monday during the resumed hearing on a petition filed by Badoli seeking to restrain the woman from public statements about the BJP leader even as trial court in Solan is hearing the matter.
During the hearing, the counsel for the woman raised objection over the disclosure of her name in the petition filed by Badoli, which was later also put up e-court portal of the high court. Accepting the objection, the court said, “…the petitioner has disclosed the name of the victim in the memo of parties, which is completely wrong and the name of the victim cannot be disclosed. He (the woman’s counsel) further submits that at this stage an order be passed that the name of the victim be not reflected in the Online e-court Portal. Ordered accordingly”.
Senior Advocate Ankush Dass Sood, assisted by Advocates Virbahadur Verma, Gaurav Choudhary, Ankit Dhiman, and Mukul Sharma appeared for the petitioner. The state was represented by Deputy Advocate General Rahul Thakur. The parties sought a period of four weeks for filing their replies, which was granted. The matter has now been listed for hearing on September 5, 2025, and the interim order will continue to remain in force until then.
During the previous hearing on July 22, the court had refrained the woman from making any public statements beyond what has already been stated in judicial proceedings. At the time. Justice Goel had issued notices to the Himachal Pradesh Police, the Solan superintendent of police (SP), and two other respondents, directing them to submit their replies on July 28.
On July 15, the district and sessions court in Solan allowed a revision petition challenging an earlier order of the Kasauli court, which had accepted a cancellation report filed by Kasauli police in the gang rape case against Badoli and Mittal. The sessions court also directed the complainant to appear before the Kasauli court on July 30.
The FIR against Badoli and Mittal was registered on December 13, 2024, under sections 376(D) (gang rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The cancellation report, citing a lack of sufficient evidence, had been accepted by the Kasauli court on March 12, prompting the complainant to file a revision petition before the Solan court.
