Dedicated framework to support child witnesses in grave crimes in TN
CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government informed the Madras High Court that a "dedicated framework" will be evolved for providing psychological support to children who were witnesses to grave crimes and help them recover from severe trauma and psychological scars.
The key features of the framework will be an identification and reporting mechanism for child witnesses, early interventions by professionals, assistance to ensure safety, physical and mental health screening, psychological assessment, counselling, follow-up till recovery and a long-term support system. A nine-member inter-departmental committee, with representatives from the law, police, Directorate of Child Welfare and Special Services and the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), will be formed for drafting the framework. Ensuring continuity of education, monitoring behavioural changes, proposing reporting guidelines for the police, teachers, paediatricians and frontline professionals towards early identification of children in vulnerable situations, and evolving guidelines for the media to prevent secondary trauma will be the other key issues to be covered by the framework.
The framework will be built upon the existing guidelines of the United Nations, orders of the courts, the Witness Protection Scheme, the guidelines for recording evidence of vulnerable witnesses and the relevant provisions of the Pocso Act, 2012, and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
A high-level meeting of top bureaucrats had discussed the matter at length at an interdepartmental meeting on August 20. The Social Welfare and Women Empowerment department made the submission in this regard, before a division bench of justices MS Ramesh and V Lakshminarayanan on Friday, when a criminal appeal petition filed by a murder convict came up for hearing.
The court was informed that the additional chief secretary for home suggested that the police department consider acting upon the safeguards, an interim measure, for protecting the vulnerable children based on the suggestions made by State Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohamed Jinnah. The government’s proposal for putting in place a framework mechanism was the fallout of the suggestions made by senior counsel Abudu Kumar Rajaratnam, appearing for the life convict P Saravanakumar, who was suffering from schizophrenia and had murdered his sister.
During the course of the hearing in April 2025, he informed the court that the incident occurred in full view of the deceased’s daughter, who underwent trauma and psychological scars. He noted there is no legal safeguard to support children witnessing grave crime and stressed the need for a mechanism. The bench concurred with these submissions and directed the state to bring in a mechanism in this regard.