Delhi High Court Calls For Sensitive Handling Of Child Victims, Says Repeated Summoning In POCSO Trials Causes Trauma

The Delhi High Court has emphasised that child victims and other vulnerable witnesses must not be repeatedly summoned during trial proceedings, observing that the criminal process itself should not become a source of further trauma for victims of sexual offences.Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said that while the victim must be given an opportunity to present her objections to the grant of bail, her presence should not be insisted upon repeatedly once her views, in respect of bail plea of the accused, have been recorded.The Court said that the expression “vulnerable witness” in criminal proceedings includes victims of sexual offences and child victims under the POCSO Act, who require a sensitive and protective approach during investigation and trial.“Courts are empowered to adopt appropriate procedural mechanisms, including recording of evidence through video conferencing or other suitable modes, so as to minimise the exposure of vulnerable witnesses to the accused and reduce the psychological stress associated with court proceedings,” the Court said. “At the stage of consideration of bail applications, while the victim has a right to be heard, once the objections or views of the victim regarding the grant of bail have been recorded, repeated insistence on the physical or virtual presence of the victim on every date of hearing ought to be avoided,” it added. The Court said that the judicial precedents and practice directions governing the protection of vulnerable witnesses are required to be followed in their true letter and spirit so that the criminal process itself does not become a source of distress to such witnesses.Justice Sharma made the observations while deciding a petition filed by minor girl victims challenging issuance of bailable warrants against one of them during trial in a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The petitioners, who were minor girls at the time of the alleged incident, informed the Court that they had been summoned multiple times for recording of testimony and even during bail hearings of the accused, causing distress and re-traumatisation. The Court said that whenever the child victim is summoned for recording of testimony, the Special Court should endeavour to fix specific dates and ensure that the necessary arrangements are in place so that the examination-in-chief and cross-examination are conducted without unnecessary adjournments. This would ensure compliance with the legislative intent of the POCSO Act and prevent avoidable hardship to the child witness, it added.The judge observed that the Trial Courts dealing with cases involving child victims or other vulnerable witnesses must ensure that the evidence of such witnesses is recorded in a timely and effective manner, without repeatedly summoning them to court on multiple dates without meaningful progress in the trial. The High Court observed that once the witness-victim is summoned for the purpose of recording evidence, the court should make all necessary efforts to ensure that the examination-in-chief and cross-examination are conducted without unnecessary adjournments, so that the witness is not required to appear repeatedly before the court.“In appropriate cases, and particularly where a request is made by the victim, the facility of video-conferencing or live-link testimony, as envisaged under Section 36 of the POCSO Act and the Guidelines of the High Court of Delhi for Recording of Evidence of Vulnerable Witnesses, 2024, must be utilised for recording the testimony — in accordance with the procedure set out in the said Guidelines,” the Court said. Counsel for Petitioners: Mr. Nitin Saluja, Ms Nimisha Menon, Ms Pranya Madan andMs Ankita Talukdar, AdvsCounsel for Respondents: Mr. Manoj Pant, APP for the State; Ms. Prachi Dubey, Amicus CuriaeTitle: MINOR CHILD K & ORS v. STATE NCT OF DELHI & ORSCitation: 2026 LiveLaw (Del) 258Click here to read order

Delhi High Court Calls For Sensitive Handling Of Child Victims, Says Repeated Summoning In POCSO Trials Causes Trauma

Nupur Thapliyal

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