Deccan
Chronicle: Kochi: Thursday, 23 April 2015.
Three years
have passed since the central government asked the state to constitute special
courts to try cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act
(POCSO Act) 2012.
Till
date, the government has not constituted
a single court. As per the data provided
by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) under
the RTI, so far the state has not
convicted a single person under the Act.
In the wake
of increase in child abuse cases, the High Court had sent a proposal to the
government to constitute a special court four months ago but it is yet to
consider the same.
“At
present, there are no special courts to
try POCSO cases. The principal sessions courts are dealing with the cases
related to such offences,” said Registrar-General of Kerala High Court S.
Jagadees.
In an RTI reply to S. Dhanraj of Kochi,
the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights stated that the
state had not provided any information yet on the number of cases registered
and convictions under the Act.
The principal
sessions judges are already burdened with
several cases leading to the delay in completing the cases. As per the
POCSO Act, the investigative agency should help the courts in completing the
trial of the case within one year.
The RTI reply
shows that the state continues to turn a blind eye to the court
directive on trying cases related to the rape of minor girls.
The
government, after the Delhi rape case, had constituted a special court in Kochi
to consider sexual abuse cases against women and promised more courts in the state.
The plan was
to start new courts in Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. Till date, it has not
constituted new courts.