Court observes legal process must not retraumatise child survivor
THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has dismissed a criminal writ petition filed by a 46-year-old man seeking to recall his minor daughter and other family members for further cross-examination in a sexual assault case.
The Bench ruled that legal procedures cannot be misused to harass survivors or subject them to “secondary victimisation.”
The petitioner, accused of repeatedly raping his daughter between 2018 and 2019 when she was a minor, had challenged a December 2025 order of the Children’s Court which rejected his application to recall the victim, her mother and her sister for additional questioning.
Upholding the trial court’s decision, the High Court noted the severe emotional distress experienced by the victim during her earlier testimony. Court records indicated that the child, now aged 13, was “continuously weeping and taking time to depose,” indicating the trauma associated with revisiting the abuse.
Rejecting the plea, the Bench emphasised that the judicial process must not be used as a tool to intimidate or retraumatise vulnerable witnesses, particularly in cases involving child survivors of sexual offences.
“The cry of the collective may not be uttered in decibels which is physically audible… but the Court has to remain sensitive to such silent cries and the agonies, for the society seeks justice,” the Court observed.
