The Supreme Court has ruled that a person who receives a direct complaint of child sexual abuse cannot avoid the legal obligation to report it to the police by conducting a private inquiry. The judgment came while restoring criminal proceedings against a school headmistress in Assam.
A bench comprising Justices Manoj Misra and K.V. Viswanathan set aside the orders of both the trial court and the Gauhati High Court, which had earlier discharged the headmistress from prosecution.
The case relates to allegations that an eight-year-old student informed her elder sister, the school's Head Girl and later the headmistress that she had been sexually assaulted by a senior student.
According to the prosecution, instead of reporting the complaint to the police as required under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the headmistress allegedly conducted her own inquiry. Investigators claim she examined the child, questioned the accused student and concluded that no offence had occurred. She is also accused of instructing students not to disclose the incident.
The Supreme Court observed that Section 19(1) of the POCSO Act imposes a mandatory duty to report offences and that the phrase "has knowledge that such an offence has been committed" includes credible information received directly from a child victim.
The bench held that a person cannot substitute the statutory reporting requirement with a personal assessment or internal investigation. Whether an offence has actually occurred is a matter to be determined through the legal process, the court noted.
Under Section 21 of the POCSO Act, failure to report an offence as required under Section 19 is punishable with imprisonment of up to six months, a fine, or both.
The Supreme Court partly allowed the appeal filed by the victim's mother and directed that criminal proceedings against the headmistress continue in accordance with the law.
The ruling reinforces the mandatory reporting provisions of the POCSO Act and underscores that school authorities and other responsible individuals are legally required to promptly inform law enforcement upon receiving credible information about alleged child sexual abuse.
Sources: NDTV
