Allahabad High Court flags forged school certificates in POCSO cases

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh Principal Secretary of Basic Education to issue guidelines within two months for issuing school date-of-birth certificates, after flagging the misuse of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act through forged documents. The court observed that parents of victims submit forged school certificates to show victims as minors, leading to false implication of young boys.

A bench of Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal made the observation while granting bail in a POCSO case where contradictory age evidence emerged. The victim's ossification test indicated she was between 18 and 20 years, but a school leaving certificate showed her date of birth as November 12, 2012. The headmaster of the school that allegedly issued the transfer certificate stated the victim was never enrolled there, and the certificate was forged.

The court noted that under Section 94(2) of the Juvenile Justice Act, age determination must first rely on school or matriculation certificates, then birth certificates from municipal authorities, and only in their absence on ossification tests. The court said the absence of a prescribed format for issuing such certificates had been widely misused, resulting in the false implication of several young boys. The bail was granted to the applicant, Shivam Yadav, who had no criminal history.