Recently, the Supreme Court has directed the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to collaborate with States and Union Territories to create guidelines in respect of support persons for victims of crimes under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The division bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Aravind Kumar said -

"This Court is of the opinion that the need for support person should not be left to the discretion of the parents; in all cases, the option of availability of support person and right to claim the assistance of such support person should be made known to the victim's parents," 

The court's directives stemmed from a set of writ petitions filed by 'We The Women of India' and others. On August 18, 2023, Earlier, the court directed state governments to rigorously enforce the POCSO Rules 2020. The aims to minimize the difficulties faced by these victims throughout the investigation, trial, and the rehabilitation process.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), Government of India and the NCPCR filed their affidavits in compliance with the court's order.

NCPCR may formulate draft guidelines which may be circulated to all the States and after due consideration of their comments and suggestions, the guidelines may be finalised, the bench suggested.

The bench issued a directive for the finalization of the guidelines within an eight-week timeframe, with a mandate to file them in court.

Furthermore, the court instructed the NCPCR to eliminate any mention of the child or victim's name, in compliance with the provisions outlined in the POCSO Act and the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act. Instead, an appropriate reference, such as a specific case number, should be used.

Case Title: We The Women Of India Vs Union of India