The Bombay High Court posted new guidelines on Thursday to efficiently implement laws under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The Bombay HC bench comprising of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni issued the said guidelines on Thursday, while also issuing directives to make sure victims in POCSO cases can be present for judicial proceedings to help prosecute the criminals.
The bench went on to say that all special juvenile police units (SJPU) shall offer a written note containing reasons why a victim’s family, guardians, or counsel could not be provided information on the judicial proceedings of the case.
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This comes after social worker Arjun Malge filed a public interest litigation bringing to light the salutary sections within the POCSO Act. Malge’s lawyer Somashekhar Sundaresan said that his client found that on several occasions, police and trial courts fail to inform the victims of the progress made in their cases and investigations.
The lawyer also highlighted the non-implementation of section 439(1)(a) of the POCSO Act which states that the victim shall be notified if a bail application has been filed by the accused. This section also permits the presence of a support person or relatives during the hearings.
Also read - Mumbai Special Court Says Perpetrators Of Child Abuse Shall Be Punished Under POCSO Act And Not Section 354
The court said in its judgment that SJPUs need to compulsorily inform the victims’ relatives or guardians of issue notices, intimations, court proceedings, etc, in adherence to the POCSO Act.
Moreover, the court issued directives to the concerned courts to ascertain the status of the notice sent to the victim’s family before hearing any bail application from the accused. If a notice hasn’t been issued to the family of the victim, the court must issue reasoned orders to obtain the “ends of justice”, the bench added.
The Bombay HC bench went on to say that the copies from its judgment shall be circulated to all presiding officers, the director of the prosecution, legal service authorities, police stations, and sessions courts to ensure the Act is implemented effectively.
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