Speed up cases under pocso: SC to High Courts

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has issued a slew of directions to ensure faster time-bound justice in all cases involving sexual offences against children under the Pocso Act, 2012, including asking high courts to set up dedicated child-friendly special courts to try these cases.

A three-judge bench led by chief justice of India Dipak Misra on Tuesday asked high court chief justices to set up a committee of three judges to ensure that they stay on fasttrack.

The bench, however, rejected a suggestion to include mentally-retarded women in the definition of a child under Pocso. The Act mandates that all investigations must be completed in two months and an appeal decided in six months.



The government had recently issued an ordinance to make rape an offence punishable with death penalty if the child is 12 years or younger.

The court was acting on a PIL which had sought guidelines to hasten the process of trying accused in all offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act , 2012 .

Petitioner Alok Srivastava had contended that statistics showed very large pendency of such cases in almost all states, ranging from 89% to 95%. In at least Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh the figures stood at over 30,000 and 10,000, respectively, the court was told.

The bench had earlier issued notices to the Centre on its proposal to control the menace. The Centre said it would provide death penalty in all cases involving rape of minors, following the national outrage over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua, Jammu.

Today, the bench asked high courts to set up special courts which will not allow unnecessary adjournments. The court also directed state DGPs to set up a special task force in every state to ensure that investigation was completed on time and witnesses produced in court.