Warning that false accusations of child sexual abuse levelled by one parent against the other in custody disputes are on the rise, the Supreme Court has laid down safeguards to prevent the misuse of the POCSO Act. Before coercive action is taken on such a complaint arising against a matrimonial backdrop, a Special Court should ordinarily obtain an expert psychological evaluation of the child. On the facts, the Court quashed a false case against a father and directed the child’s re-integration with him.
