New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a slew of measures to monitor and fast-track trials across the country in sexual abuse cases involving children under stringent POCSO Act, including a direction to all High Courts to set up a panel of three judges to look into such cases.
A Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud passed this order on a writ petition filed by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava seeking a direction for expeditious disposal of such cases.
“The High Courts may constitute a committee of three judges to regulate and monitor trials of cases under the POCSO Act,” the top court directed.
“The High Courts of all the states would see that the cases registered under the POCSO Act, as prescribed under the Act, are heard and decided by special courts,” it said, adding that such courts “may be assigned” to deal with such cases exclusively.
It also asked the High Courts to issue a direction to special court judges not to grant adjournments during the trial of child abuse cases.
The top court also directed the Director General of Police (DGPs) or police officer of same rank of all states and UTs to ensure that probes in POCSO cases were conducted expeditiously and the witnesses produced in the courts for recording of testimonies.
It also asked the High Courts to ensure that the proceedings in such cases were conducted in “child-friendly” atmosphere in the trial courts.
With these directions, the bench disposed of the PIL filed by Mr Srivastava. The PIL was filed to save the life of the child brutally raped by a 24-year-old relative at a Delhi hospital.
Counsel brought to the notice of the court that over one-lakh cases were registered under POCSO and only 11,000 cases had been disposed of. He also pleaded for death penalty to those who sexually assault children in the wake of the shocking rape of an eight-month-old infant by a youth in Delhi.
Since the Centre promulgated an ordinance to provide for death penalty to the accused in sexual offences against children, the petitioner urged the court that these cases should be expeditiously disposed of.
