The Karnataka High Court has issued a technology-driven Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) titled “SOP for Protection and Rehabilitation of Minor Victims of Sex Offences, 2025”, which will remain in effect until the state government, in consultation with experts, prepares an SOP.
The court issued the SOP after noticing that the authorities not only neglected their duties under the law but also ignored several directions issued by the court on medical termination of pregnancy and rehabilitation of minor victims of sex offences.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj issued the directions while allowing the petition of a 13-year-old girl, who became pregnant due to sexual assault, for a medical termination of pregnancy.
While directing the chief secretary, women and child welfare and the director general of police (DGP) to formulate a final standard operating procedure based on expert inputs, the court said its standard operating procedure would be functional till then as “indicative”.
Integrated system
The court’s SOP proposes a uniform, time-bound, and technologically integrated system for managing child sexual abuse cases—from initial reporting to full rehabilitation—to eliminate bureaucratic delays, interdepartmental silos, and re-traumatization of victims.
The SOP framework is based on the provisions of major legislations such as Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) 2012, Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act 2015, Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act 2021 and Digital Personal Data Protection (DPD) Act 2023 etc.
A key provision of the court’s SOP is the direction to create a Digital POCSO Portal (DPP) – a secure cloud-based platform integrated with national systems such as the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) – and the e-Courts Mission Mode Project.
The SOP states that each case would be digitally tracked in real-time, ensuring “zero delay” at every procedural step — from registration of a First Information Report (FIR) and forensic investigation to filing of billing and payment of compensation.
Absolute confidentiality
The SOP says that each victim will have to be assigned a Pseudonymous Identifier (PID) to guarantee absolute confidentiality; and sensitive personal data will have to be stored in an encrypted “Identity Vault”, accessible only with court authorization, to protect the right to privacy of digitally stored data.
The court’s SOP establishes a strict confidentiality and counseling protocol for cases involving the pregnancy of minor victims who are entitled to unbiased, trauma-informed counseling regarding both the continuation and termination of the pregnancy.
If an MTP is chosen, the SOP states that it must comply with the MTP Act 2021, which allows termination for up to 24 weeks with the consent of the minor and guardian — or from the Child Protection Board if necessary. After 24 weeks, the SOP states, court approval and medical board recommendations are required and all such proceedings will remain confidential and encrypted at the DPP.
An automated alert system on the DPP dashboard will need to flag any breach of procedures. For example, the court said that if a medical examination or FSL report exceeds the statutory time limit, the DPP will generate a “red alert” that will trigger immediate surveillance intervention, as every action, from police investigations to court orders, will be digitally time-stamped and auditable.
The SOP sets the time limits for the payment of compensation by stating that the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) must apply for interim compensation within 15 days of the FIR and all payments will have to be made through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), with a delay of more than 30 days automatically generating a “red” alert for the supervising judicial and administrative supervisors.
Published – 10 Nov 2025 20:41 IST
