The Supreme Court (SC) recently expanded the meaning of vulnerable witnesses and directed that all high courts (HC) should notify and adopt a vulnerable witness deposition centre within 2 months. The Supreme Court said, “The High Courts which already have existing VWDC schemes in place may consider making suitable modifications to the scheme to bring it in conformity with the guidelines which have been indicated in the present order”. The scheme will be the law under Article 141/142 of the Constitution of India.
Who are vulnerable victims?
Earlier the Supreme Court of India defined them as individuals who are under the age of 18 years, who are suffering from mental illness and sexually assaulted victims. Now, Supreme Court has expanded the definition of vulnerable victims.
Recently, Supreme Court defined vulnerable victims as the following-
- Sexually assaulted victims under section 377 of IPC.
- Witnesses who are suffering from mental illness as defined in the mental health care act 2017.
- Gender-neutral victims of sexual assault.
- Witnesses under threat perception.
- Witnesses who are suffering from hearing or speech impairment.
- A person suffering from other disabilities as defined by the courts.
What is the Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centre?
Under the vulnerable witness deposition scheme, the Supreme Court directed all the high courts to establish the VWDC (Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centre) committee. The centre is created to form a secure and safe environment for recording the Statements of vulnerable victims.
Need for introducing this scheme
The judiciary of India found various situations where the witnesses turned hostile in the trial. This scheme was introduced to restrict these threats and to provide safety and protection to all the vulnerable witnesses in our country.
Features of Vulnerable Witness Deposition Scheme
- The High Courts who have already these centres shall make the required modifications as per the guidelines.
- In every district, there should be at least one Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centre (VWDC)
- To manage the VWDC centres training programmes should be conducted. The training programmes will be conducted for the staff, bench, and bar.
- It directed the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to appoint a nodal officer to coordinate the implementation of the scheme.
- The VWDC centres should be established within or close to the Alternate Dispute Resolution ADR centres.