Thiruvananthapuram: Thiruvananthapuram is one of the three districts in the state with a special court for women and children and yet the capital district has the dubious distinction of having the largest number of POCSO pending cases in the state. Of the 539 cases, 487 cases or over 90 per cent of the cases are pending. And in the 52 cases settled (9.64 percent of the total POCSO cases), the accused were convicted only in eight cases and, shockingly, it was only in a single case that compensation was granted to the victim. If only less than 10 per cent of the cases were settled in the capital district, here is how the other two districts with special courts have fared in settling POCSO cases: Ernakulam - 55.8 per cent and Kozhikode - 33.15 per cent. Even districts like Malappuram, Wayanad and Idukki, with only additional sessions court to try child-related cases, have done considerably better.
Lawyers and policemen that Deccan Chronicle talked to, cited multiple reasons. Delay in filing the chargesheet, the legal loopholes tapped by the accused and his team to stall proceedings, and failure to establish special courts and special juvenile police units were the major ones. "The huge delay in filing the chargesheet has delayed hundreds of cases," said advocate Sandhya Raju of Human Rights Law Network. Under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), the police has to file the chargesheet in 60 days. And the trial has to be completed within a year of registering the case. These deadlines are generally dishonoured. "The delay can be attributed to the absence of a special juvenile police unit in the district. For the ordinary policeman dealing with routine law and order, child cases will be of least priority," said Mr Joseph Mathai, a lawyer. (Only Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts have SJPUs.).
Nonetheless, a better strike rate for Ernakulam, rather than suggesting effective case disposal, could hint at something more ominous. In Ernakulam, for instance, in 98 of the 132 cases settled, the accused were exonerated. "This generally means an out of court settlement where the victims and her family are fobbed off by a large compensation," Mr Mathai said.
