First information reports (FIR) in cases involving sexual assault and rape of minors are not mere printed papers but have trauma writ large on them and hence should not be dealt with mechanically by courts, the Delhi High Court said in a recent order.
The observations were made by a Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma that set aside a trial court order which rejected the plea of a minor rape victim for the preservation of CCTV footage and call data record of the accused on the grounds that there was discrepancy in her statements pertaining to the alleged incident.
The victim, 16, was allegedly gang-raped by her brother-in-law and his friends.
Justice Sharma said the victim was experiencing great mental trauma after the incident which could be a reason that she was unable to recollect the details of the incident, and that the trial court should have “exercised sensitivity and empathy” in such a case.
The court also noted that the victim was under treatment at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS). It is when her mental health improved, she clarified the details to the police, the court said.
Coming down on the trial court, the High court said the trial court had declined the request to preserve a critical piece of evidence — the CCTV footage and the call detail records of the accused— on the sole ground that the victim had mentioned a different date of the incident in her initial complaint.
“The FIRs in cases involving sexual assault and rape, committed upon minors, are not mere printed papers, but a trauma writ large, experienced by a living human being, which is difficult to be portrayed on a piece of paper... In cases of sexual assault of minor victims, such as the present one, the extreme stressful situation and life turning experience faced by a victim should not be dealt with in mechanical manner by the courts,” the High Court said.
