iProbono lawyers help minor rape survivor get justice; Delhi HC lays down guidelines for examining child witnesses

In a triumph for victims of child abuse, the Delhi High Court on Monday overruled a judgment of the Dwarka District Court acquitting the accused in the rape of a 3 year-old girl. The accused, Sujeet Kumar, had committed the offence in October 2012. A Bench comprising Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Mukta Gupta laid down guidelines on the examination of children who are victims of sexual abuse..One of the reasons for acquittal was the fact that the testimony of the child victim had been held to be inadmissible as evidence. However, the High Court referred to Section 118 of the Indian Evidence Act and the case of Dattu Ramrao Sakhare vs. State of Maharashtra, which in essence state that the testimony of a child can be considered as the basis of a conviction, provided the child is capable of understanding the questions put to him. The Court criticized the approach of the trial court in questioning the child witness. Irrelevant questions like whether a three-year-old girl from a poor family went to school and explanations of abstract notions like ‘truth’ did not determine, in the opinion of the Court, the competency of a child victim to testify..The Court also delved into the subject of child psychology before it framed its guidelines to be followed when questioning a child victim. In a laudable move, the State was directed to bear the medical expenses of the child, taking into consideration that her parents are daily-wage labourers. The child and her family had earlier approached a child rights organization, Haq Centre for Child Rights to pursue the appeal. Haq sought assistance from iProbono, a network of pro bono lawyers, whose criminal lawyers Gautam Khazanchi and Utkarsh Saxena represented the girl in Delhi High Court..iProbono is an online platform which serves as a connection between civil society organizations and lawyers who are willing to offer legal assistance to underprivileged sections of society. It is an attempt to tackle the inadequacies of the legal aid system, and also comes as a boon to lawyers who genuinely want to do pro-bono work f but who are hampered by the time constraints of their regular jobs.