99 Per cent Of POCSO Cases Waiting For Trial In Courts: Report

While the number of cases reported in 2020 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has reduced in the capital city of India, New Delhi, the new worry is the number of these cases pending in the courts. A report by the Praja Foundation in a report stated that judgements have been passed in only one percent of the total case number.

According to the data released by the foundation, there is a huge pendency in the cases under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Special and Local laws, crime against children and crime against women in Delhi.

A total of 16,667 cases of crime against children were before the courts in 2020. Out of which, 99 percent is still pending trial as per the data collected till December 2020.

99 Per Cent POCSO Cases Pending In Courts:

"The POCSO Act provides for a separate POCSO court to try cases of sexual crimes against children and possibly completion of these cases within one year of cognisance of the offence. This is however not being properly implemented," stated the report. Clearly so, because 77 percent of the total number of cases, 56, in which judgement was given took one to three years for completion of trials. 16 percent of cases took three to five years for completion.

Deeksha Dwivedi in an interview with the Indian Express said that there are designated sessions court which takes up the crime against children (CAC) cases but most of these cases turn out to be complex wherein evidence gathering is difficult, the police are not sensitised enough, and the judges are also overburdened. These reasons lead to longer trials and the complete opposite of the suggested one-year speedy justice.

If burden on courts is one reason, then pandemic has made it worst as the courts for the longest were limited to virtual hearings and it "worsened the delay". The Supreme Court lawyer Rebecca John said that the courts were unable to record evidence virtually which led to more delay.

According to the data, 94 percent of the total 1,197 cases in 2020 survivors were girls and the highest cases were of sexual assault, 373, and rape, 721.

These data were stated under State of Policing and Law and Order in Delhi and it was released on November 2021. The data by the Praja Foundation was obtained through compiling white papers from the Right To Information (RTI) Act of 2005.

Suggested Reading:

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