Hyderabad: At the inaugural session of the State-Level Meet 2025 on POCSO, Supreme Court Judge Justice Surya Kant called for a major overhaul of India’s child protection framework, highlighting its current inadequacies.
"The child protection framework in the country remains disjointed and under-equipped, and what is needed is a fundamental shift—one that sees the child not as a passive witness in a criminal trial but as a person in urgent need of sustained and holistic care,” Justice Kant said on Saturday.
He underscored the importance of restorative justice, noting that progress remains incomplete until child survivors are supported by systems that do not retraumatise them.
Justice Kant further stressed that child protection must go beyond the courtroom and focus equally on healing and institutional accountability.
He also stated that justice for a child begins not in the courtroom but the moment the child feels safe and secure, both within and outside their environment.
"Consider the case of a 10-year-old child made to recount trauma repeatedly—before a teacher, a police officer, a medical examiner, a lawyer, and then a judge. With each retelling, her voice grows fainter until it vanishes altogether," he said.
Justice Kant pointed out that the legal process often deepens a child’s distress and that the system’s failure to prioritise the victim compounds the harm. He stated that this failure is not coincidental but rooted in structural issues.
"The child's healing is not just a legal requirement—it is a moral obligation. In the Indian societal context, it is also a constitutional commitment," he said.
He asserted that safeguarding child victims cannot rest solely on the legal framework—it must be a national effort involving every stakeholder.
"We must move away from reactive justice to a more proactive, compassionate model, where rehabilitation is not a footnote but the foundation," he said.
Echoing these sentiments, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy reaffirmed his government’s dedication to child protection:
"We must protect our children from sexual abuse at any cost and by all possible means. My government gives top priority to the protection of children and women," Reddy said.
He pointed to the Telangana Bharosa Project, which operates 29 centres offering integrated support, including police services, legal aid, medical care, and counselling. He emphasised that the vision extends beyond speedy trials—it is about ensuring comprehensive safety and growth for every child.
Reddy also acknowledged the strength of India's legal protections under the POCSO Act and the Juvenile Justice Act, while noting that implementation hurdles remain.
(inputs from PTI)