Police stations told to follow checklist in POCSO cases

In an attempt to minimise the number of acquittals on technical grounds like age proof in cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, police stations in eastern Mumbai will have to adhere to a checklist before filing a chargesheet. The checklist, comprising eight procedural questions, was prepared after studying cases under POCSO Act that resulted in acquittals, said officials. Additional Commissioner of Police (East region) Lakhmi Gautam said a large number of POCSO cases are registered in the East region — Mulund to Kurla (East), especially areas like Deonar, Govandi, Shivaji Nagar. In some sexual offence cases, defence lawyers manage to get charges dropped after pointing out procedural errors, he added.

“In some cases, the age proof of the accused taken from the school was not attested by the principal or his statement was not attached. If there is a doubt about the age of accused or victim, the case tends to fall,” said Gautam. Another officer said that in some cases, defence lawyers would try to present an accused as a minor, in order for the trial to be taken under the Juvenile Justice Act and not the stringent Indian Penal Code.

In other cases of sexual abuse, lawyers would try to prove that the victim was not a minor, the officer added. “If a victim is a minor, there is no question of consent under the law. Normally, defence lawyers try to prove the victim is a major and that the act was consensual,” said another officer. A common ploy used by defence lawyers is to discredit age proof, such as certificate issued by the school, claiming it to be unattested or that it does not have the principal’s statement verifying the contents, said Gautam. It was instances like these that prompted the police to come up with a checklist to avoid such issues.

“Before a chargesheet is filed by any police station in my region, the ACP has to send me the checklist that has been issued to all police stations in the East region. I give the permission to file the chargesheet only after finding that the checklist has been answered in positive,” Gautam added. The checklist comprises questions like ‘has a certified copy of the age proof been added?’, ‘is a woman officer handling the case?’ (in cases where the victim is a girl), and ‘was the statement of the victim registered at his/her residence?’ among others.

A police inspector from the Eastern suburbs said, “In POCSO Act cases, the age of both the accused and victim forms an important part. That is the first thing a defence lawyer tries to discredit. If the court is not convinced by the age proof, it is a major blow to the case.” Gautam added, “Given that the eastern region has maximum POCSO Act cases, it is our responsibility to ensure that these cases do not result in acquittals.”