Alakh Alok Srivastava v. Union of India
Supreme Court of India2018 INSC 433; MANU/SC/0489/2018; (2018) 17 SCC 291Bench: CJI Dipak Misra, J. A.M. Khanwilkar, J. D.Y. Chandrachud
The Supreme Court issued six binding guidelines for all POCSO Special Courts across India: (1) Trials in POCSO cases must be completed within one year from the date of cognizance. (2) Special Courts must be designated in every district with adequate infrastructure. (3) Child victims must be allowed to give evidence by video conferencing wherever possible. (4) Child victims must not be called repeatedly to court for depositions. (5) All States must designate a Special Public Prosecutor trained in child-sensitive examination. (6) The Court should ensure that no adverse publicity is given to the victim. The Court directed High Courts to submit quarterly compliance reports.