The Karnataka High Court last month put forth a technology-oriented standard operating procedure (SOP), including a digital Pocso portal, to assist victims in cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act until another SOP is framed with expert assistance. The portal is intended to aid management of all Pocso cases in Karnataka.

The context of the court directions, which came in an order passed on October 15 by a bench of Justice Suraj Govindaraj, was a case involving a 13-year-old girl sexually assaulted and threatened by her uncle’s acquaintance. She was found to be pregnant in a medical examination. The petition before the court sought medical termination of the pregnancy, taking into account the report of a hospital’s medical board, as well as the

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