‘Like mother showing moon to baby’: Train for child witnesses, court tells POCSO judges

The Madras High Court has instructed judges handling POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) cases to approach child witnesses with empathy, comparing their role to a mother feeding an infant by making them focus on the moon. The court emphasized the need for better practical training for judicial officers to elicit relevant evidence from child survivors without causing further trauma.

Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy, hearing a criminal original petition challenging a trial court order, highlighted the importance of a gentle and empathetic approach, likening it to making the child "see the moon without feeling any pressure or pain." The court also called for the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy to provide relevant material, including practical exercises and discussions, to every special court and magistrate.

This training is crucial in understanding child development, memory, and abuse enquiry techniques to ensure a child-friendly examination process, balancing the need to gather evidence with protecting the child from additional trauma.