Bengaluru: A child survivor shouldn’t be put through cross-examination repeatedly, Karnataka high court has observed, saying processes must never become another wound inflicted on the child in pursuit of justice.In a judgement passed Oct 16, the court quashed an order passed by a trial court in Bengaluru to allow further cross-examination of the survivor, now 12 years old.She had been cross-examined at length several times. Therefore, the order for another round of cross-examination would become abuse of law and “re-traumatise the child”, Justice M Nagaprasanna pointed out in his order.A Pocso case was registered in 2022 based on a complaint by the mother of the girl, who was eight then. Police conducted an investigation and filed a chargesheet. In March 2024, the accused filed an application seeking further cross-examination with certain videos and voice messages. The trial court allowed the application.The mother challenged the order before the high court, arguing the survivor had already been cross-examined several times in 2023 and the trial court order was against Supreme Court judgements.Justice Nagaprasanna pointed out HC cannot ignore the trauma a child would undergo if there was a re-run of all that had happened on the date of the alleged incident. The child would be put to “psychological distress”, the judge observed, quashing the trial court’s order.
