Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
New Delhi
Taking note of alarming rise in child rape cases, the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered setting up of centrally-funded special courts under POCSO Act in each district across the country in 60 days to exclusively try those accused of sexual assault on children.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said the special courts will be set up under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act where 100 or more cases under the special law were pending.
“Such courts will be set up under a Central scheme and will be funded by the Central Government, which fund will not only take care of the appointment of the Presiding Officer, but also the appointments of support persons, Special Public Prosecutors, court staff and infrastructure, including creation of child-friendly environment and vulnerable witness Court rooms, etc.,” the Bench said in its order.
The Bench said care should be taken to appoint persons with requisite academic qualification dedicated to the cause and having orientation towards child rights and those who were sensitive to the needs of a child and were otherwise child friendly. “The same standards would also apply in the matter of appointment of Special Public Prosecutors,” it added.
The Bench – which had on July 12 taken cognizance of the “alarming rise” in cases of rape against children and said it will issue directions to ensure a “concerted” and “clear” national response to deal with the problem – passed the order after hearing amicus curiae V Giri, top court Registrar Surinder S Rathi and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
The top court directed the Ministry of Women and Chlid Development to implement Giri’s suggestion for preparing a short clip intended to spread awareness on prevention of child abuse and prosecution of crimes against children and screen it in every movie hall. It said the clip could also be transmitted by various television channels at regular intervals.
A child helpline number should also be displayed not only in such clip but also at various other prominent places, in schools and other public places, it said.
Directing the Centre to inform it about the status of compliance of the order in four weeks, the Bench posted the matter for further hearing on September 26.
It said suggestion for further collection of data and setting up a forensic lab in each district for expeditious disposal of POCSO cases can wait, and instead asked state governments to ensure timely submission of such reports for expeditious conclusion of trial.
‘Lack of infrastructure, not Collegium matter of concern’
During the hearing, the Bench took a dig at those blaming the Collegium for the ills afflicting the judicial system.
“It is not the functioning of the Collegium, which recommends appointment of judges for higher courts, but lack of adequate infrastructure and huge vacancies of judicial officers in subordinate courts that is a matter of concern for the judiciary, the Bench said.
“What are the ground realities in states like Tripura, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh? In states like Madhya Pradesh, they still believe in putting curtains in the court between the accused and the victim,” it said.
Referring to data on sexual crimes against children, the Bench had on July 12 said from January 1 to June 30 this year, 24,212 FIRs had been filed across India. Out of over 24,000 cases, 11,981 are still being probed by the police and in 12,231 cases, police have filed the charge sheet, it said.
Trials commenced in 6,449 cases only, it said, adding that they are yet to commence in 4,871 cases. Till now, trial courts have decided only 911 cases, about 4 per cent of the total cases registered, it had noted.
