The
Allahabad High Court has directed that in cases of sexual offences against
children, police must ensure that a medical report determining the victim's age
is drawn up at the outset and is submitted to the court without any delay.
The
court said discrepancies in the victim's age in POCSO (Protection of Children
from Sexual Offences) cases can substantially affect the rights and liberties
of the accused.
It
granted bail to Ghaziabad-resident Aman, alias Vansh, who was lodged in the
jail since December 5, 2023 last year in a POCSO case.
"False
depiction of a victim as a minor in POCSO Act cases is an abuse of the process
of court." Justice Ajay Bhanot said on Tuesday.
He
observed that the victim's age as mentioned in the prosecution case is often
found to be at variance with the age determined by the expert medical boards in
a large number of cases.
"At
times there are multiple contradictions in age-related documents available with
the prosecution. Numerous cases of false implication and abuse of POCSO
(Protection of Children from of Sexual Offences) Act have also been noticed.
Runaway couples of young age are criminalized in the process," Justice
Bhanot observed.
The
accused's counsel submitted that the victim was wrongly shown as a 16-year-old
minor in the FIR only to falsely implicate his client under the stringent
provisions of the POCSO Act.
The
court noted that in the instant case, the medical examination to determine the
victim's age was not conducted at the time of the applicant's arrest. Instead,
the report was prepared later revealing the victim's age to be 17 years.
While
granting bail to the accused, the court took note of several instances of
multiple contradictions within age-related documents provided by the prosecution.
Justice
Bhanot further observed, "This Court is finding that in many instances the
accused-applicants have argued that medical determination of the victim's age
was not got done deliberately as it would establish the majority of the victim
and repudiate the prosecution case.
"By
falsely depicting the victim as a minor the accused persons are wrongly
implicated under the stringent regime of the POCSO Act only to cause their
indefinite imprisonment. "
Against these backdrop, the court directed that police
authorities/investigation officers shall ensure that in every POCSO Act
offence, a medical report determining the victim's age shall be drawn up at the
outset under Section 164A of the Criminal Procedure Code read with Section 27
of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
The
report may be dispensed with if medical opinion advises against it in the
interests of the victim's health, the court said.
It
said that the medical report determining the age of the victim shall be created
as per established procedure of law and in adherence to latest scientific
parameters and medical protocol.
The
court further directed that the medical report determining the age of the
victim shall be submitted under Section 164-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure
to the Court without delay.
"The
Director General (Health), Government of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow shall also
ensure that the doctors who comprise the Medical Board are duly trained and
follow the established medical protocol and scientific parameters for
determining the age of the victims in such cases," the court said.