HELD: A support person is to provide information, emotional and psychological support, and practical assistance which are often crucial to the recovery of the child – This can go a long way in helping them cope with the aftermath of the crime and with the strain of any criminal proceedings – in many ways a support person, acts as guardian ad litem for the child – A support person-whether involved from the early stages of lodging a report or brought on board shortly thereafter-can play a tremendous role in offering encouragement, reassurance, and guidance, merely from their knowledge of the legalese, armed with a compassionate child-friendly approach – Their potential in providing moral support and guidance, which directly translates to better and more just outcomes both in terms of prosecution, and rehabilitation, cannot be overstated – To fulfil their role as envisaged, their primary focus, must be the child’s immediate care and protection, and to play the role of a helpful intermediary between the child, its family/guardian, and the various institutional stakeholders and authorities. [Paras 4 and 6] Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 – Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Rules, 2020 – Responsibility of the support person:
HELD: The support person is responsible for accompanying the child during recording of statement, medical examination, depositions, and to assist in all other interactions at the investigation, pre-trial, and trial stage – The support person is to make available public or private emergency and crisis services; ensure availability of free legal aid; provide assistance with navigating the victim compensation scheme; track the status of investigation, arrest, and filing of charges of the accused person; follow the dates of the court proceedings to enable the victim or family to attend as required; and be abreast of any other developments such as grant of bail, detention status, etc. of the accused. [Para 5]
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Rules, 2020 – Form A – Importance of:
HELD: The POCSO Rules, also contain ‘Form-A’ which as per Rule 4(14) is to be handed over to the child victim, parents/guardian, or any other person in whom the child trusts, to inform them of the entitlements the child victim must receive as information and services – This form re-emphasises the importance of a support person in each case, and is also indicative of the stages at which such a support person can play a role in. [Para 8] Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 – Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Rules, 2020 – Support person – Reviewing of facts and framing of rules/guidelines – Directions issued: HELD: In furtherance of the mandate of s.39 of the POCSO Act, the Principal Secretary to the Department of Women and Child Welfare, in the State of Uttar Pradesh shall convene a meeting to review the facts, take action, and frame rules/guidelines as necessary, on the following: (i) Assess capabilities in the State with respect to the support persons ecosystem for the selection, appointment, need for special rules/guidelines/Standard Operating Procedure in regard to their appointment/empanelment, training, career advancement and terms and conditions of employment; (ii) To achieve the said purpose, require the presence of the Chairperson, of the State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), Secretary, State Legal Service Authority, senior-most President of a JJB and seniormost Chairperson of a CWC in the state, and a representative from the State Commission for Women; (iii) details may be called from each District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), as to the list of support persons maintained by it as per Rule 5(1) – which is to include the names of persons or organisations working in the field of child rights or child protection, officials of children’s homes or shelter homes having custody of children, and other eligible persons employed by the DCPU [as prescribed under Rule 5(6)]; (iv) After due consultations, frame such rules, or guidelines, as are necessary, relating to the educational qualifications and/or training required of a support person [over and above the stipulation in Rule 5(6)], and parameters to identify the eligible institutions or NGOs in the State, which can be accredited to depute qualified support persons, and consequently be added to the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) directory as contemplated in Rule 5(1); (v) Ensure that the DCPU or CWC, as the State authorities may deem fit, is tasked with conducting periodic training for all support persons in the DCPU directory;
(vi) In the guidelines framed, ensure that a reporting mechanism through appropriate formats are prepared, to enable the support persons to send monthly reports as per Rule 4(12) to the concerned CWC, which should then be compiled and sent to the SCPCR, and the state government; (vii) Prepare a framework, in the form of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to ensure proper implementation of Rule 12 of the POCSO Rules, 2020, for reporting by the respective CWCs on the specific heads of information collected by them, on monthly basis; (viii) The SOP prepared, and guidelines framed, are to be communicated to all JJBs and CWCs after its preparation; (ix) Lastly, it is important to acknowledge that support persons who are independent trained professionals, would need to take up tasks which require intensive interactions in often, hostile environments, and consequently deserve to be paid adequate remuneration – Also, the remuneration paid for the duration of the work, should be commensurate to the qualifications and experience of these independent professionals, having regard to the salaries paid to those with comparable qualifications employed by the government in PSUs or other institutions. [Para 11]
LIST OF CITATIONS AND OTHER REFERENCES
Alarming Rise in the Number of Reported Child Rape Incidents, In re (2020) 7 SCC 108 – referred to.
‘Model Guidelines under Section 39 of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012’ issued by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, p. 50; ‘Handbook for Support Persons 2021- Assisting Child Victims of Sexual Violence’ Published by Enfold, Prerana and UNICEF, this handbook was launched on 10.03.2022 – referred to.
OTHER CASE DETAILS INCLUDING IMPUGNED
ORDER AND APPEARANCES
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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