The Delhi High Court expressed concerns over the potential psychological impact on a survivor of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) when they are required to be present in court during bail hearings for the alleged abuser. This is because the arguments often vary from allegations, accusations, doubting integrity and outright character assassination, even when the survivor is a minor and the alleged abuser is being tried under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO), which is the central legislation dealing with sexual offences against children.

Delhi HC expresses concerns over presence of CSA survivor at the time of POCSO bail hearings | SabrangIndia

Concerns about the possible impact of such allegedly forced interaction between the survivor and the alleged abuser have been raised by rights groups Representation Image | https://www.scsaorg.org The court sent the suggested guidelines to Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee (DHCLSC) and Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) for their input.