The Gauhati High Court's notification specifies that the following procedures must be followed in POCSO Act proceedings with immediate effect.....
Digital desk: The Gauhati High Court recently released a notification to implement the practice instructions for the proceedings in Criminal Appeals/Revisions or Criminal Petitions filed under the POCSO Act, 2012 in the High Court and its Outlying Benches.
In the case of Dipak Nayak v. The State of Assam & Ors., the Gauhati High Court's division bench noted that it is inclined to adopt the Practice Directions dated September 24, 2019, developed by a division bench of the Delhi High Court in Reena Jha and Others v. Union of India and Others (2020), and directed that the same shall apply to the offenses under the POCSO Act.
The Gauhati High Court's notification specifies that the following procedures must be followed in POCSO Act proceedings with immediate effect.
In cases where the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has sections 376, 376-A, 376-DA, and 376-DB that deal with serious sexual offenses, the High Court or Court of Session is required to notify the Public Prosecutor within 15 days of receiving the bail application before granting bail.
The informant or their designated representative must get written notification from the investigating officer (IO) regarding their right to attend the bail hearing. This communication, in the format specified ("Annexure A"), needs to be sent with the bail application's reply or status report. The informant or authorized representative's attendance will be ensured by the court using all reasonable means.
A copy of the bail application, appeal, revision, or petition will be served by the Registry to the Public Prosecutor, who will then submit it to the Officer-in-Charge or the IO of the relevant police station. The victim, guardian, or support person must then be informed of the High Court's proceedings by the officer(s).
All such petitions, appeals, revisions, and applications must name the victim, guardian, or support person as a party and be submitted to the High Court. The victim's identity will be protected during the impleading process by the court's careful adherence to the criteria outlined in POCSO Act Section 33(7). The IO/Officer-in-Charge will send the impleaded party a formal notification.
The notice to the victim/guardian/support person will also inform them about the availability of free legal aid counsel if they are unable to hire their own lawyer.
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