On December 22, The Gauhati High Court issued several directives for a thorough investigation in cases involving child sexual assault. 

The decision was made by a division bench led by Chief Justice Rashmin Manharbhai Chhaya and Justice Soumitra Saikia in a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that was filed in 2019 based on press reports of sexual and physical abuse of young girls living in a children's home. 

The State Government has been given the following instructions by the Court in order to conduct a thorough investigation into cases involving child sexual exploitation.

●    The State Government shall pursue the appeal in accordance with the law; the State Government and the Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights shall strictly abide by the provisions of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 when conducting an investigation into a case involving child rights violence; and the State Government through the Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights shall immediately conduct training on the child rights enquiry procedure for all employees of the Commission;
●    The State Government and Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights shall pursue any such incident that was reported to it in accordance with the Child Rights Act, and Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights shall only exercise powers that are granted by the Act and shall act in accordance with the limited jurisdiction that has been provided for protection in the Child Rights Act, 2005.
●    Every six months, or twice a year, the State Government and Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights must submit a report to the Guahati High Court's Juvenile Justice Committee detailing any such incident and the measures taken, including the investigation made and the outcome of that investigation.

As a result, the PIL was dismissed, leaving the appeal to be heard by the appropriate court.

Case Title: XXXX v. In Re-The State of Assam & Ors.
Citation : PIL (Suo Motu) No. 1 of 2019

Link: https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindiaHC/cases/display_pdf.php?filename=%2FE3WiyNUWFIaR1oBGE62WoVmRk8nq7Bw1vOfC6oJuMYibSkCTHyAHg8oX%2FiyPwIB&caseno=PIL(Suo%20Moto)/1/2019&cCode=1&appFlag=