At Mumbai session court: Separate enclosure, audio-video link facility— vulnerable witnesses to get safe deposition space

While the Mumbai court currently has such enclosures in a few special courts designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, they are meant only for victims of child sexual abuse.

The deposition centre at the the Mumbai City Civil and Sessions Court was set up following directives from the Supreme Court.

This centre will offer a space even for other witnesses termed vulnerable due to their circumstances, including those covered under Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and Mental Healthcare Act, 2017.

The centre was inaugurated on March 27 by Justice S B Dighe, the Guardian Judge of the City Civil and Sessions Court, and Justice Neela Gokhale, along with other facilities including an e-mulaqat facility for lawyers to interact with their undertrial clients lodged in jails.

The judicial officers or judges can determine who requires to be examined at these centres. Officials said that the courts can inform the administrative staff regarding the scheduled deposition of a vulnerable witness and the centre will be made available accordingly.

In regular courtrooms, while the accused sit at the back of the courtroom in a separate enclosure, the witness deposes from the witness box, set up near the bar, from where the lawyers sit and ask questions.

Initially in cases of sexual assault, the only safeguard was that of making the deposition in-camera so that the general public will not be able to identify victims.

With the POCSO Act, the guidelines were expanded with focus on making the children feel at ease while deposing. Makeshift arrangements including putting up a curtain around the witness box were made when a victim deposed.

In some courts under the POCSO Act, separate rooms considered child-friendly are set up, with toys and brighter walls.

Police officials said that the biggest challenge is the waiting time when a victim is brought to the court but has to await their turn and have to sit in the corridors.

“Many times they come face to face with the accused or their families at this time and get traumatised before their deposition. These centres might be a good space to have the victims sit there before the hearing starts,” the official said.

Lawyer and director of Rati Foundation, Persis Sidhva, who has been working on the issues of enactment of POCSO Act, said that accessibility of the centre to those who need it, is crucial.

“However, they may have a limited use if accessing them is not easy. The larger questions of vulnerable witnesses, especially child victims, which continue even after over 10 years of the POCSO Act, remain. Like the need to bring the victims to court at all, when their testimonies can be taken from a video link,” Sidhva said.

The SC has often expressed concern and the need for setting up facilities in district and subordinate courts “to create a safe and barrier-free environment” for recording of evidence of witnesses.

In November 2024, the Supreme Court issued directives based on which the Bombay High Court approved and updated model Guidelines for Recording of Evidence of Vulnerable Witnesses in December 2024.

These guidelines state that vulnerable witnesses find their interaction with the legal process, especially the criminal justice process, particularly the courtroom experience “intimidating”.

Support persons working with victims of abuse often say that the victims end up facing “secondary victimisation”, due to the responses of institutions and individuals to them after the criminal act.

The guidelines issued by the court state that these centres should have a live link through which the witness need not remain present physically in the courtroom but through an audio-video link can be examined and cross-examined remotely.

It also has arrangements for a separate enclosure with one-way mirrors so that the accused cannot see the victim while testifying in order to ensure that the victim is not traumatised and does not feel threatened.

In 2019, the Supreme Court was informed that there are 33 such centres set up in Maharashtra, with functioning screens in 23 of them, the most number of permanent centres across the country.

Currently, there are over 200 such centres in court premises across the state, including temporary centres, where only a few of the require facilities are available due to lack of space.

Officials said that the process is underway to delegate space in court buildings where there is less space to make such arrangements.

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