Madras High Court Flags Misuse of Child Helpline in False POCSO Case

The Madras High Court granted bail to a father accused of sexual assault, highlighting an "alarming trend" of the 1098 child helpline being misused to file false POCSO cases.

The Court observed that the minor girl had called the helpline to defuse domestic discord between her parents, but was allegedly coerced and intimidated by Child Welfare Committee (CWC) officials into making "bad touch" allegations.

The Court noted that such practices cause devastating reputational and psychological trauma.

Consequently, the Court directed the State to frame strict guidelines for recording children's statements and ordered the District Collector to pay ₹1 lakh compensation to the girl for the trauma caused by official coercion.