BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court framed an indicative ‘Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the Protection and Rehabilitation of Minor Victims of Sexual Offences 2025’ to be followed by all the agencies concerned, since it has come across lapses in the procedure to be followed by the authorities in such cases.
"There are several matters which are coming before this court where the victim is a child below 18 years of age, and the victim and/or her family has not having been informed of the possibility of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) being carried out at the right time, come to know about it much later, by that time the permissible period under the MTP Act is breached requiring the victim to approach this court,” the court observed.
“Directions having been issued on several occasions, they continue to be ignored, and there is no compliance.”
"I am of the opinion that all these could be resolved if a proper SOP is formulated by the Principal Secretary, Women and Child Welfare and the Director General of Police for all stakeholders to comply with. Until then, I propose to formulate the following indicative SOP, which would be in force until such a SOP is formulated,” said said Justice Suraj Govindaraj while passing the order permitting the conduct of MTP for a 13-year-old girl, a victim of sexual assault by her uncle's friend.
“This SOP is only indicative; it would be for the experts to formulate a better and more exhaustive SOP, which shall be done as expeditiously as possible,” he added.
The victim filed the petition through her mother seeking directions for MTP. The victim's father is a stonemason. Taking into consideration the condition of the victim, the court referred the petitioner to the Medical Board, which submitted a report stating that termination of pregnancy could be carried out.
The court stated that the purpose of SOP is to establish a single, unified, time-bound, and technology-driven workflow that governs the response to sexual offences against minors. It aims to provide a clear and predictable pathway--from the moment an offence is first reported to the complete and successful rehabilitation of the survivor--thereby eliminating procedural ambiguity, reducing delays, and preventing interagency friction.
The Primary Objectives of this SOP are:
To guarantee the immediate safety, medical attention, and psychological first aid for every child victim.
To ensure an expeditious, sensitive, and trauma-free investigation by implementing child-friendly procedures at every stage.
To maintain absolute and technologically enforced confidentiality of the victim’s identity in all proceedings and records.
To coordinate a seamless inter-agency response through clearly defined roles, standardised documentation, and mandatory time limits.
To provide sustained, holistic rehabilitation—encompassing education, counselling, and livelihood support—until the child is successfully reintegrated into society as a healthy and productive adult.