Repeated court summons can cause distress and re-trauma to child sexual assault victims: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has asked the courts to ensure that minor victims of sexual assault are not repeatedly summoned during trial or bail proceedings because this can cause psychological distress and re-traumatisation.  

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said that the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) mandates the adoption of child-friendly procedures to ensure that the child victim is not subjected to repeated or unnecessary appearances before the Court. 

The Court added that video conferencing should be used by the courts to record testimony of the children, reducing their need for physical appearance in court. 

“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,” the Court added. 

The Bench made these observations while dealing with a petition filed by three minor girls who were victims in a sexual assault case registered in 2022. 

According to the petition, they had gone missing and were later found in Delhi, where they alleged they had been sexually assaulted and threatened by several accused persons over two days. Charges, including rape, trafficking and offences under the POCSO Act, were added to the case.

The petitioners argued that they had been repeatedly summoned to testify, causing emotional distress. One of the victims had been called nine times before her testimony was completed, while the others were summoned multiple times. 

The trial court had even issued a bailable warrant against one of the minor victims after she failed to appear due to emotional distress. The High Court earlier set aside the warrant and later examined broader issues relating to the treatment of child victims during trial proceedings. 

In a detailed judgement, the High Court stressed that several guidelines have been issued by courts on the issue and that the trial courts/special courts must follow them uniformly. 

Advocate Prachi Dubey acted as amicus curiae in the matter. 

Advocates Nitin Saluja, Nimisha Menon, Pranya Madan and Ankita Talukdar represented the petitioners. 

Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Manoj Pant represented the Delhi Police. 

[Read Judgment]