In a significant ruling aimed at protecting survivors of heinous crimes, the Calcutta High Court has stepped in to shield a human trafficking survivor from being called repeatedly for cross-examination. The court set aside a trial court's order that would have forced the survivor to undergo further questioning.
Details of the Case and the Crime
The case pertains to a girl who was a minor at the time of the incident. On January 29, 2023, she left her home and did not return. A complaint was subsequently lodged by her mother. When the girl was eventually found, she revealed a horrifying ordeal: she had been sold to a hotelier in Bengal for 'commercial sex purposes', as stated by her lawyer.
Following an investigation, six individuals were arrested in connection with the crime. A chargesheet was filed under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The trial began after charges were framed on December 8, 2023.
The Trial Court's Order and High Court's Intervention
The survivor deposed during the trial on February 27, 2024, and was cross-examined on March 15, 2024. However, five months later, on August 13, 2024, the lawyer for one of the accused filed a plea to recall her for further cross-examination. The POCSO court allowed this application.
Challenging this order, the survivor approached the Calcutta High Court. The bench of Justice Chaitali Chatterjee Das invoked the court's inherent powers under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to scrap the trial court's directive. The High Court observed that the lower court had "passed the order without assigning any reason," making it unsustainable.
A Victory for Survivor Rights
The ruling underscores the judiciary's role in preventing the re-traumatization of survivors, especially minors, in sensitive cases. The court recognized that a survivor of a crime as grave as trafficking should not be subjected to the ordeal of repeated cross-examinations without strong justification.
Reacting to the High Court's decision, the survivor's counsel welcomed it as a crucial precedent. "This is a win for the voiceless," the lawyer said, highlighting the judgment's importance in safeguarding the dignity and rights of victims within the legal process.
The case will now proceed in the trial court without the recalled witness order, marking a step towards a more empathetic and survivor-centric judicial approach in POCSO and trafficking cases.
