In a case involving rehabilitation of a minor rape victim, the Delhi High Court has appointed a “guardian ad litem” in accordance with the U.N. model law on child victims while directing that the custody of the 16-year-old girl, allegedly raped by her brother, be given to her father.
According to the U.N. model law on justice in matters involving child victims and witnesses of crime, published in 2009, a court may appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the best interests of a child in neglect and abuses cases, paternity suits, contested inheritances, etc., for the duration of a legal action.
A Division Bench comprising Justice G.S. Sistani and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal, in a recent judgment, handed over the custody of the minor girl to her father, who had filed a writ petition seeking directions to the Delhi government to release her from Paripurna Jeevan shelter home in Karol Bagh here. He had sought his daughter’s custody in his capacity as her natural guardian.
In her statement recorded before the Magistrate, the girl did not show any interest in returning to her home and expressed her desire to stay at a place where she could live in peace. Her brother has since been arrested by the police and is at present in judicial custody.
