Child Witness Competency With Psychiatric Morbidity Under POCSO & BSA: Intermediaries, Special Procedures, And Reliability Assessments (India)
- IJLLR Journal
- 3 hours ago
- 1 min read
Ishaan D. Joshi, CFPSE CFMLE, University of Edinburgh Law School
ABSTRACT
This paper builds a practical, rights-compatible framework for receiving and evaluating testimony from child witnesses with psychiatric or neurodevelopmental conditions in Indian criminal courts. Anchored in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (competency: s.124), POCSO, 2012 (Special Court powers and safeguards: ss.33, 36–38; Rules 2020 on support persons), and BNSS, 2023 (recording at a place of choice with interpreters/special educators and videography: s.173), it clarifies that diagnosis does not entail incompetence and that competency is a low, functional threshold—understanding questions and giving rational answers—with the Oaths Act, 1969 permitting testimony without oath for very young children. The paper operationalizes intermediaries by function (special educators, interpreters, support persons, live-link and other testimonial aids through Vulnerable Witness Guidelines), sets out structured reliability assessments (tutoring screens, developmental appropriateness, consistency, trauma-informed analysis), and explains digital-evidence handling under BSA ss.57–63. It integrates RPwD Act, 2016 s.12 to ground reasonable accommodations and reconciles these measures with the accused’s fair-trial rights by routing questions through the judge, limiting recall, and maintaining in-camera, identity-protected proceedings. The result is a bench-ready protocol that maximizes evidentiary value while minimizing re-traumatization.
Keywords: child witness competency, POCSO, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, intermediaries and special measures, psychiatric morbidity
