State of Karnataka v. Shivanna
Supreme Court of India2014 INSC 345; MANU/SC/0400/2014; (2014) 8 SCC 913Bench: J. T.S. Thakur, J. Gyan Sudha Misra
The Supreme Court held that recording the victim's statement before a Magistrate under Section 164 CrPC within 24 hours of the FIR must be treated as mandatory in POCSO cases. This requirement serves the dual purpose of: (1) preserving the child victim's account in its most authentic form before memory fades, (2) protecting the child from being pressured to recant. The Court issued a general direction that in all sexual offences against children, the investigating officer must ensure the Magistrate records the victim's Section 164 statement within 24 hours. Non-compliance may be treated as negligence in the investigation.