SC tells States, UTs to respond to NCPCR’s guidelines on appointment of ‘Support Persons’ in POCSO cases

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has told States and Union Territories to respond to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights' guidelines for compulsory appointment of support persons for the victims of child sexual abuse.

The guidelines prepared by NCPCR are likely to benefit over 2.5 lakh victims of the pending POCSO cases across the country. 

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh also directed all the States and Union Territories to submit their response within four weeks with respect to the NCPCR guidelines regarding the appointment, qualification and duties of support persons in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses cases.

NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan filed a plea seeking a direction to the government to implement SOP on support persons. 

The BBA sought the implementation of child-friendly and child-protection Guidelines in the wake of the 2022 Lalitpur incident in Uttar Pradesh when a 13-year-old child was gang raped for over five months including by a police official when she approached the police station to file a complaint. 

NCPCR Chairperson, Priyank Kanoongo, said, “It is a remarkable step as NCPCR’s Guidelines on support persons have been approved by the apex court. Now, the response of the State Governments and UTs regarding the implementation of the Guidelines of NCPCR is crucial.”

The compulsory appointment of support persons was proposed by noted child rights activist and lawyer Bhuwan Ribhu in an application filed in 2022. 

Calling the order as a game changer, Ribhu said, “This is a landmark order as poor, clueless victims will no longer be alone or vulnerable. They now have someone to help them navigate through the complex legal process, provide them with the crucial psychological first aid they need, ensure witness and victim protection and fight for their rehabilitation and compensation. This is a huge victory for them who are on a journey of transformation from being a victim to a survivor.”

In its order, the court also directed the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to file a compliance report on the appointment of para legal volunteers in every police station across the country. 

In August, 2023, the court had emphasised that the State must provide support persons as per the POCSO Act to child victims of sexual offences and that the appointment of support persons cannot be made optional.