Mumbai: Following public outrage over the Badlapur school sex abuse case and the Bombay High Court taking suo motu cognisance of it, the state government has reissued guidelines for the state-run medical colleges and hospitals on how to deal with child sex abuse cases and conduct medical tests.
The government has reminded the medical colleges and hospitals to follow provisions in section 27 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, that deals with the medical examination of a victim child. The test has to be conducted in accordance with section 164A of the CrPC, 1973. In case the victim is a girl child, the medical examination shall be conducted by a female doctor, the provisions state.
The provisions in section 6 of the POCSO Rules, 2020, deal with emergency medical care and privacy of the child. No medical practitioner or medical facility shall demand any legal or magisterial requisition or other documentation as prerequisite to rendering such care, the provision states. It also deals with the treatment, possible pregnancy, referral consultation, and collection of forensic evidence.
The state’s decision to issue guidelines afresh assumes significance in view of the high court taking a serious view of the investigation by the police as well as the response by the state agencies, sources from the government said.
