The court noted that the child had contacted the 1098 helpline in a bid to reduce the fight between her parents, but was coerced to file a complaint against her father.

Madras High Court news: Raising serious concerns over the “alarming trend” of misusing the 1098 child helpline , the Madras High Court has granted bail to a father accused of sexually assaulting his daughter, noting a recurring pattern of children allegedly being coerced by Child Welfare Committee (CWC) officials to level false sexual abuse allegations against their fathers.

Justice K K Ramakrishnan directed the state to frame guidelines ensuring fair and transparent recording of children’s statements without inducing, tutoring or coercing them to make allegations against any person, including family members.

“This Court painfully notices an alarming trend in certain cases involving allegations against fathers, wherein some officials attached to the Child Welfare Committee , shelter homes, or even police personnel appear to insist upon or…