Lok Sabha Question No. 1626 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-13
Subject: POCSO Act
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: KIRRON KHER

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE) LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1626 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 13 th  FEBRUARY, 2019 POCSO Act

## 1626.  SHRIMATI KIRRON KHER:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

(a) the status of establishment of child friendly courts across the country as per the guidelines  under  the  Protection  of  Children  from  Sexual  Offences  Act,  2012  (POCSO Act);

(b) the steps taken to ensure that court processes and procedures during pre-trial and trial are child and victim friendly; and

(c) the  details  of  resources  being  allocated  to  enable  conclusion  of  child  sexual offences cases within a year?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW & JUSTICE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS (SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY)

(a) & (b): As  per  Section  28  of  Protection  of  Children  from  Sexual  Offences  Act, 2012  (POCSO  Act),  for  the  purpose  of  speedy  trial,  the  State  Government  shall  in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court designate for each district a Court of Session to be a Special Court to try the offences under the Act. Further, as per Sections 19, 24, 25 and 26 of the Act, provisions have been made for child friendly procedure for reporting of cases, recording of statement of child and trial of cases in a child friendly manner.  The  Act  also  provides  that  evidence  of  the  child  shall  be  recorded  within  a period of thirty days of the Special Court taking cognizance of the offence and reasons for delay, if any, shall be recorded by the Special Court. The Special Court shall complete the trial, as far as possible, within a period of one year from the date of taking cognizance of the offence. The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in its judgement dated 01.05.2018 in Writ Petition (Civil) 473/2005  had urged High Courts to consider establishing of child friendly courts and vulnerable witness courts in each district. As informed by National Commission  for  Protection  of  Child  rights  (NCPCR),  the    data  on  Special  Courts established in the country under POCSO Act, 2012  is given in Annexure.

(c): Providing the resources to facilitate quick disposal of cases is the mandate of State /UT Governments. However the 14 th Finance Commission had endorsed the proposal of the  Union  of  India  for  setting  up  of  Fast  Track  Courts  for  women,  children,  senior citizens etc., for dealing with crimes that are heinous in nature etc. at a cost of Rs.4144 crore  during  the  period  2015-20  and  urged  the  State  Governments  to  incur  the expenditure  from  the  enhanced  tax  devolution  (from  32%  to  42%)  to  meet  such requirements.

## ANNEXURE

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (c)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1626  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  13 TH   FEBRUARY,  2019 REGARDING POCSO ACT

## State/UT-wise details of Special Courts designated under the POCSO Act, 2012

|   Sr. No. | Name of the State/UTs   | No. of Special Courts   |
|-----------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|         1 | Andhra Pradesh          | 14                      |
|         2 | Assam                   | 24                      |
|         3 | A &NIslands             | 1                       |
|         4 | Arunachal Pradesh       | 5                       |
|         5 | Bihar                   | 38                      |
|         6 | Chhattisgarh            | 51                      |
|         7 | Chandigarh UT           | 1                       |
|         8 | Delhi                   | 16                      |
|         9 | Daman& Diu              | 2                       |
|        10 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli     | 1                       |
|        11 | Goa                     | 1                       |
|        12 | Gujarat                 | 33                      |
|        13 | Himachal Pradesh        | 11                      |
|        14 | Haryana                 | 22                      |
|        15 | Jharkhand               | 24                      |
|        16 | Kerala                  | 3                       |
|        17 | Karnataka               | 30                      |
|        18 | Lakshadweep             | Nil                     |
|        19 | Manipur                 | 9                       |
|        20 | Mizoram                 | 5                       |
|        21 | Madhya Pradesh          | 51                      |
|        22 | Meghalaya               | 6                       |
|        23 | Maharashtra             | 36                      |
|        24 | Nagaland                | 8                       |
|        25 | Odisha                  | 30                      |
|        26 | Punjab                  | 22                      |
|        27 | Pondicherry             | 1                       |
|        28 | Rajasthan               | 55                      |
|        29 | Sikkim                  | 4                       |
|        30 | Tamil Nadu              | 32                      |
|        31 | Telangana               | 10                      |
|        32 | Tripura                 | 7                       |
|        33 | Uttar Pradesh           | 75                      |
|        34 | Uttrakhand              | 13                      |
|        35 | West Bengal             | 23                      |