KOZHIKODE: Model Children's Court, which helps women and children in dealing with the law, will be set up in the city, the second in the state after Ernakulam, next month. The District Additional Sessions Court has so far been handling their cases. The court temporarily functioning from a rented room of Eranhipalam Housefed Complex will have a separate waiting room for children and a video-trial for the accused mandated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Posco) Act-2012.
Kozhikode Legal Authority initiated it as the Posco stipulates child- friendly courtrooms across the state. "The victim and the accused will be addressing the trial without seeing each other, thereby reducing the trauma faced by the victim in most of the cases," said R.L. Baiju, sub-judge. "In most cases, judges will be women making it easy for them to confront. Once the court starts functioning, all the cases related to women and children will be transferred here, and we will also try our best not to prolong the cases." According to State women's commission member Adv Noorbina Rasheed, there are over 1,000 Pocso cases at various stages in Kozhikode.
"The court will provide a child-friendly environment, and a child coming there will also have a different entrance to the courtroom. Unlike in normal circumstances, minors will not be allowed to come face-to-face with alleged offenders," she said. "Atrocities against women and child are on the rise, but most of them go unreported due to prolonged judicial procedure. Such a court will encourage victims to come forward and fight for justice."
