The Supreme Court has held that reporting under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 is mandatory, schools cannot conduct their own inquiry.
The bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice K.V. Viswanathan has observed that school authorities cannot independently assess the credibility of a child’s complaint of sexual assault before deciding whether to inform the police, holding that the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act imposes a mandatory duty to report such allegations. In a significant judgment strengthening child protection laws, the Court set aside the Gauhati High Court’s decision affirming the discharge of several school officials accused of suppressing a complaint of sexual assault involving an eight-year-old student.
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The appeal arose from a 2020 FIR lodged by the victim’s mother in Arunachal Pradesh. According to the complaint, the child disclosed that she had been sexually assaulted by a senior student in November 2019 while studying at a residential school. The victim allegedly informed her elder sister, who then reported the incident to the Head Girl. The complaint claimed that the Head Girl informed the school authorities, but instead of notifying the police or the child’s parents, the school allegedly instructed students not to speak about the incident. The matter came to light only months later when the child’s mother overheard a conversation between her daughters.
During investigation, the police recorded statements of the victim, her sister, the Head Girl, teachers and other witnesses. The charge sheet alleged that several school officials, including the Principal, teachers and Linda Sema, failed to report the offence despite receiving information about it. Investigators further alleged that the school authorities internally discussed the matter, examined the child, chose not to seek immediate medical treatment, and instructed students to remain silent, thereby attracting offences under Sections 176, 201 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code along with Section 21(2) of the POCSO Act for failure to report the commission of an offence.
However, the Trial Court discharged the school officials, holding that there was no prima facie evidence showing they possessed sufficient knowledge of the alleged offence. It accepted the defence that the teachers found no conclusive signs of sexual assault, formed a committee to observe the conduct of the victim and the juvenile, and therefore were not legally bound to report the matter. The Gauhati High Court affirmed this reasoning, observing that criminal liability for non-reporting under Section 19 of the POCSO Act depended upon “knowledge” that an offence had actually occurred.
Allowing the victim’s mother’s appeal, the Supreme Court disagreed with both courts’ approach. The Bench emphasised that while considering discharge, courts are required only to examine whether the materials collected during investigation create a strong suspicion that the accused committed the alleged offence. They are not expected to conduct a mini-trial or evaluate whether the evidence is sufficient for conviction.
The Court analysed the statements of the victim, the Head Girl and other witnesses, noting that the prosecution material consistently suggested that the victim’s complaint had reached the school authorities, that some teachers had physically examined the child after the complaint, and that a meeting was held where it was allegedly decided not to disclose the matter until it was “resolved.” These allegations, the Court observed, were sufficient at the stage of framing charges to raise grave suspicion against the accused.
Interpreting Sections 19 and 21 of the POCSO Act, the Supreme Court clarified that the expression “knowledge” does not require certainty that an offence has occurred after conducting an internal inquiry. Rather, information received from the child or other credible sources is sufficient to trigger the statutory obligation to report the matter to the police.
The Bench stressed that institutions entrusted with children’s safety cannot substitute the statutory investigative process with their own assessment of the complaint’s truthfulness. Once information disclosing a possible POCSO offence reaches school authorities, they are legally obligated to report it without delay. Failure to do so may expose responsible persons to prosecution under Section 21 of the Act.
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