New Delhi, March 14 -- The Delhi High Court on Saturday observed that repeatedly summoning child victims to court during trial proceedings in cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act can cause significant psychological distress and must be avoided.

The court emphasised that the criminal justice process should not become a source of further trauma for vulnerable witnesses.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma held that trial courts must ensure that the testimony of child victims is recorded efficiently and without unnecessary adjournments so that they are not compelled to appear repeatedly before the court.

The court underlined that the legislative intent behind the POCSO Act is to ensure ...