Safety and protection

ss. 19(5), 24(3), 36; Rule 4; JJ Act s. 2(14)

Immediate care and shelter where needed; no contact with the accused at any stage; the CWC decides on custody within three days

Privacy and confidentiality

ss. 23, 24(5), 33(7); Nipun Saxena

No disclosure of name, address, photograph, family, school or neighbourhood; the Special Court alone may permit disclosure in the child's interest

Legal aid

s. 40; Rule 7; LSA Act s. 12

Counsel of the family's choice, or a lawyer provided free through the DLSA

A support person

Rule 4; Bachpan Bachao Andolan (2023)

A person appointed by the CWC to assist and inform the child through investigation and trial

Medical care

s. 27; Rule 6

Emergency care within twenty-four hours, without FIR, certificate or charge; a woman doctor for a girl child

Psychological counselling

Rules 4 and 6; s. 39

Counselling and mental health support through the CWC, the support person and experts

Continuing education

Rule 9 factors; CWC care orders

Schooling protected and supported; loss of education counts towards compensation

Information about the case

Rule 4; Form-A; s. 25(2)

Written information on entitlements; updates from the support person; copies of documents on the final report

Interim compensation

s. 33(8); Rule 9

At any stage after the FIR, for immediate needs and rehabilitation

Final compensation

s. 33(8); Rule 9

On conclusion of the case, whatever the outcome, if loss or injury is shown

§ Three rights that begin with the first report

• Safety and protection. The police must arrange immediate care where needed, including admission to a shelter home or hospital within twenty-four hours, under Section 19(5). The child must never come into contact with the accused during investigation, under Section 24(3), or trial, under Section 36. The CWC decides within three days whether the child needs to be taken out of the household.

• Privacy and confidentiality. The child's identity is protected from the first moment by the police under Section 24(5), from the media under Section 23, and by the court under Section 33(7). In Nipun Saxena v. Union of India, (2019) 2 SCC 703, the Supreme Court held that the protection flows from Article 21 and extends to police and court records.

• Information. The child and family must be told their entitlements in writing in Form-A, kept informed about the progress of the case by the support person, and given copies of the documents when the final report is filed, under Section 25(2).

§ Two forms of assistance through the process

Legal aid. Under Section 40, the family or guardian may engage counsel of their choice to assist the prosecution; where they cannot afford one, the Legal Services Authority must provide a lawyer. Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 independently entitles every child to free legal services.

The support person. Appointed by the CWC under Rule 4, the support person provides information, emotional and psychological support, and practical help; coordinates with the police, doctors, prosecutor and court; and reports to the Committee on the child's situation.

Not optional. In Bachpan Bachao Andolan v. Union of India (2023), the Supreme Court found support persons had been appointed in only a small fraction of cases, held that their availability is not merely directory, and directed guidelines for their appointment and remuneration.

§ Care for the whole child

• Medical care. Emergency care within twenty-four hours, without any FIR, certificate or charge, under Rule 6; examination under Section 27 by a woman doctor for a girl child, with a parent or trusted person present; emergency contraception, HIV prophylaxis and follow-up.

• Psychological counselling. The CWC and the support person arrange counselling; Section 39 brings in experts in psychology and mental health; and mental trauma is a ground for compensation under Section 33(8).

• Continuing education. The CWC's care orders should protect the child's schooling, and Rule 9 counts loss of educational opportunity, including absence from school because of trauma, treatment, investigation and trial, among the factors for compensation. In X v. State of U.P. (2026), the Supreme Court cancelled bail where the accused's intimidation had driven the child out of school.

Special relief

Rule 8: immediate payment for food, clothes, transport and essentials on the CWC's recommendation, within a week; separate from compensation

Interim compensation

Rule 9 with s. 33(8): at ANY stage after the FIR, on the court's own motion or on application; adjusted against final compensation

Final compensation

On conclusion of the trial, where the child has suffered loss or injury

Where the accused is acquitted or discharged

Compensation may still be awarded: the child's loss does not depend on the outcome of the prosecution

Where the accused is not traced or identified

Compensation may still be awarded: the child is not left without remedy because the offender is unknown

Payment

By the State from the Victims Compensation Fund within thirty days of the order

The victim compensation scheme

Framed by each State under what is now Section 396 of the BNSS, corresponding to Section 357A CrPC; the Special Court applies it in quantifying compensation

§ Factors the Special Court weighs under Rule 9

The type and gravity of the abuse, and the severity of the physical and mental harm.

The cost of medical treatment, physical and mental, incurred or likely.

Loss of education and of employment, of the child or the family.

The relationship to the offender, and whether the abuse was single or repeated.

Pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease or HIV, and any disability resulting from the offence.

The financial condition of the child's family.

Child Welfare Committee

Decides on care and custody within three days; appoints the support person; recommends special relief; orders counselling, shelter or restoration to the family; monitors through the support person's reports

District Child Protection Unit

Maintains the registers of support persons, interpreters, special educators and experts; coordinates services; follows up on the child's rehabilitation and the implementation of care orders

District Legal Services Authority

Provides a lawyer under s. 40 and Rule 7; administers or disburses compensation and special relief under the victim compensation scheme

Support person

Accompanies the child through the process; keeps the child and family informed; reports to the CWC on health, education and the case

Special Court

Awards interim and final compensation; conducts a child-friendly trial; protects identity

NCPCR and SCPCRs

Monitor implementation under s. 44 and Rule 12

§ When the process becomes the harm

Secondary victimisation is harm caused not by the offence but by the response to it: repeated retelling, confrontation with the accused, public exposure, hostile questioning, disbelief, and delay.

Re-traumatisation is its effect: the child relives the abuse each time the process forces a return to it.

The Act's design answers each harm. A good first record under Sections 24 to 26; questions only through the court under Section 33(2); the child called once under Section 33(5); screens under Section 36; a closed court under Section 37; time limits under Section 35.

Trauma-informed justice means that everyone in the process, police, doctors, prosecutors and judges, understands how trauma affects a child's behaviour and memory, and designs each step to avoid adding to it.

Sheetal Vasant Thakur v. Chirag Arora, 2026 INSC 638. The Supreme Court applied these principles to psychological evaluation, holding that repeated or layered evaluations risk re-traumatisation and secondary victimisation, and that minimum intrusion must be the norm.