New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice to several media houses for disclosing the identity of an eight-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar asked why action should not be taken against the media houses for disclosing the victim’s identity and said the act was in violation of a law which is punishable under Section 228-A of the Indian Penal Code.

The court has asked the National Commission for Women (NCW), Delhi Commission for Women and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to file responses on the matter.

It listed the matter for further hearing on April 17.

The victim’s body was recovered from Rassana forest in Kathua on January 17, a week after she went missing while grazing horses in a forest area.

She was reportedly held captive inside a temple and sedated before being repeatedly raped and murdered.

Sanjhi Ram, the caretaker of the temple, has been named as the main accused and is said to have planned the heinous crime to instil fear among the Bakarwal community to which the victim belonged.