Supreme Court calls for creation of more POCSO courts to tackle delays in child rape trials

The Supreme Court on Thursday urged the Central government as well as State governments to prioritise the creation of more courts dedicated to hearing cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) [In Re: alarming rise in the number of reported child rape incidents]..A Bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Prasanna B Varale observed that the such a measure is required to tackle the high pendency of child sexual assault cases registered under the POCSO Act, particularly in some States such as Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Maharashtra.The Court noted that delays in the trial of such cases undermined the purpose of the POCSO Act, which mandates strict timelines for investigation and trial. "Because of the inadequacy of the number of exclusive Courts for the POCSO Cases, the said timelines mandated in the (POCSO) Act for completion of the trials are not being maintained. It is therefore expected that the Union of India and the State Governments shall take appropriate steps to sensitize the officials associated with the investigation of POCSO cases, and also to create dedicated Courts to try POCSO Cases on top priority basis, and to see to it that the chargesheets are filed within the mandatory period stipulated in the Act, and the Trials are completed within the time frame as contemplated in the Act," the Court ordered. .The Court also stressed that the timelines for trial laid down in the POCSO Act must be strictly complied with, as far as possible. “In our opinion, since the timelines have been stipulated under the POCSO Act for all stages right from the stage of investigation up to the stage of trial, the same must be adhered to as far as possible.".The Court made the observation while closing a suo motu case which was initiated in 2019 after the top court came across various news reports on the increase of child rape cases in India. The issues taken up in this case included the need to set up more Forensic Science Laboratories for POCSO cases to expedite investigations, the inadequate number of Public Prosecutors in POCSO Courts and whether to set up a national scheme for the payment of compensation to victims of offences under the POCSO Act..On July 25, 2019, the Court directed that special POCSO courts should be set up in each district with over 100 pending POCSO cases. These special courts were to be funded by the Central government, and were to include presiding officers, special public prosecutors, support staff, and child-friendly infrastructure. The Court had also instructed the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to ensure that support persons appointed in these courts were appropriately trained and sensitised to the needs of child victims.The Court yesterday observed that while many States had complied with its earlier directions, some States with high POCSO case pendency continued to lag behind."In certain States like Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Maharashtra etc., there is still a need to create more POCSO Courts considering the pendency of the POCSO cases," it said. .The Court ultimately closed the case by urging the concerned government authorities to take corrective steps by setting up more POCSO courts on priority. .Senior Advocate V Giri assisted the Court as Amicus Curiae, with support from Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta and Senior Advocate Uttara Babar..[Read Judgement]