Facts:

On 17^th April 2024 the Allahabad High Court released extensive directions regarding the inconsistent methods used to determine the victim’s age in instances under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. Judge Ajay Bhanot made the decision while granting the Petitioner, X, who has been detained since December 5, 2023, bail in connection with a POCSO case.

Contention of the Petitioner:

The Petitioner contended that the Ghaziabad police station had filed a complaint against him under the POCSO Act and laws related to rape. According to the FIR, the victim was falsely identified as a 16-year-old in order to incriminate the petitioner in violation of the POCSO Act. In actuality, the victim accompanied the Petitioner voluntarily. It was mentioned in the statement she provided to the police and magistrate, but she made no allegations of rape. The age-related paperwork that the prosecution produced had multiple inconsistencies.

Court’s Observation:

The Allahabad High Court noted that the prosecution’s stated age appears to be inconsistent with numerous medical reports. The court further requested the Director General of Health to guarantee that the physicians performing the medical examination have the necessary training and adhere to medical protocols and scientific norms in order to determine the patient’s age. Then a responsible police officer or investigator must make sure that a medical report is created to ascertain the victim’s age and promptly submits it before the court.

“At times there are multiple contradictions in age-related documents available with the prosecution. Numerous cases of false implication and abuse of POCSO Act have also been noticed. Runaway couples of young ages are criminalized in the process.” Justice Bhanot observed.

According to the court, differences in the victim’s age in POCSO cases can have a significant impact on the accused’s rights and freedoms.

“False depiction of a victim as a minor in POCSO Act cases is an abuse of the process of court.” Justice Ajay Bhanot said.

Court’s Order:

HC while granting bail to the accused stated that it finds that the accused applicants have frequently contended that the victim’s age was not determined medically on purpose since doing so would establish the victim’s majority and undermine the prosecution’s case. The accused are erroneously implicated under the strict POCSO Act regime by fabricating a victim’s age, which leads to their indefinite imprisonment.  Despite the legal need, most of the time the medical report needed to ascertain the victim’s age is not created and is not included in the investigation. The lack of a medical report that established the victim’s age prevented the court from granting equal justice. Therefore, the Court has established a procedure to request such reports.

Following were the guidelines issued by the Allahabad HC:

1. The 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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. Constant research shall be done in this field to keep the reports in line with the latest scientific developments.

-by Deeksha Rai Legal Associate