Lok Sabha Question No. 2435 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-09
Subject: POCSO Cases
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: N.K. Premachandran

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2435

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 9 TH   MARCH, 2021/ PHALGUNA 18, 1942 (SAKA)

POCSO CASES

2435. SHRI N.K. PREMACHANDRAN:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) whether incidents of crime against children areincreasing in the country; (b)  if  so,  the  action  taken  by  the  Government  to  prevent  crimes  against children; (c)  the  details  regarding  the  Protection  of  Children  from  Sexual  Offences (POCSO)  cases  registered  in  each  State  during  the  last  five  years,  Statewise; (d) whether the Government has initiated action for timely trial and disposal of POCSO cases and if so, the details thereof; (e) whether it has came to the notice of the Government that conviction rate in POCSO cases are less; (f)  if  so,  the  details  of  the  action  taken  for  giving  training  to  investigating officers to conduct the investigation in a scientific manner; and (g)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  the  provisions  of  law  are  often misused and if so, the details of the action taken for implementation of the provisions in a legal manner?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

(a)& (b): 'Police'  and  'Public  Order'  are  State  subjects  under  the  Seventh Schedule to  the  Constitution  of  India.  The  responsibilities  to  maintain  law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens including investigation  and  prosecution  of  crime  against  children  rest  with  the respective State Governments.

## L.S.US.Q NO. 2435 FOR 09.03.2021

The  State  Governments  are  competent  to  deal  with  such  offences under the extant provisions of laws. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes statistical data on crimes in its publication 'Crime in India'. Published reports are available till the year 2019. Analysis of this data for  cases registered under various crime heads on crimes against children does not show any uniform trend.

- (c) The details are at Annexure.
- (d) The Government has approved setting up of 1023  Fast  Track Special Courts (FTSCs) including 389 exclusive POCSO Courts for expeditious trial and disposal  of cases  related to rape and  to POCSO Act.
- (e) As per published information the Conviction Rate for POCSO cases in 2019 was 34.9.

(f)& (g) Training  and  skill  building  programs  for  Investigation  Officers, Prosecution  Officers  and  Medical  Officers  for  handling,  collection  and transportation  of  evidence  in  sexual  assault  cases  is  being  undertaken  in Bureau of Police Research &  Development (BPR&D)  and  Lok  Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Sciences.  A  total  of  13177  officers  have  been  trained.  BPR&D  conducts training  courses,  webinars etc.  on the  issue  from  time  to  time.  Ministry  of Home Affairs issues advisories to States/Union Territories from time to time advising the steps to be taken to prevent cases of crimes against children. These advisories are available at www.mha.gov.in.

## L.S.US.Q NO. 2435 FOR 09.03.2021

These  include  deployment  of  additional  force  for  investigation  in POCSO cases, adequate sensitization of Police officials associated with the investigation of POCSO cases on top priority so that charge-sheets are filed in  a  timely  manner  to  facilitate  completion  of  trials  within  the  time  frame contemplated under the Act, nomination of all Police officials concerned for the  training  programmes  in  BPR&D/Central  Detective  Training  Institutes; conduct of training programmes for Police on investigation and dealing with POCSO cases at the State level as a special drive.

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## Annexure referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2435

State/UT-wise Cases Registered (CR) under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act During 2015-2019

| SL   | State/UT          | 2015   | 2016   | 2017   | 2018   | 2019   |
|------|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| SL   | State/UT          | CR     | CR     | CR     | CR     | CR     |
| 1    | Andhra Pradesh    | 1054   | 830    | 378    | 361    | 502    |
| 2    | Arunachal Pradesh | 54     | 59     | 14     | 24     | 36     |
| 3    | Assam             | 819    | 821    | 1149   | 1721   | 1779   |
| 4    | Bihar             | 187    | 233    | 1356   | 2094   | 1540   |
| 5    | Chhattisgarh      | 1656   | 1570   | 1676   | 1812   | 2027   |
| 6    | Goa               | 79     | 75     | 0      | 2      | 0      |
| 7    | Gujarat           | 1609   | 1408   | 1697   | 2154   | 2253   |
| 8    | Haryana           | 988    | 1020   | 1139   | 1924   | 2074   |
| 9    | Himachal Pradesh  | 206    | 205    | 8      | 28     | 12     |
| 10   | Jammu &Kashmir*   | 30     | 25     | 0      | 32     | 109    |
| 11   | Jharkhand         | 182    | 348    | 385    | 615    | 654    |
| 12   | Karnataka         | 1526   | 1565   | 1956   | 2036   | 2160   |
| 13   | Kerala            | 1486   | 1848   | 1169   | 1153   | 1283   |
| 14   | Madhya Pradesh    | 4624   | 4717   | 1569   | 2445   | 6123   |
| 15   | Maharashtra       | 4816   | 4815   | 5248   | 6233   | 6558   |
| 16   | Manipur           | 43     | 43     | 29     | 43     | 58     |
| 17   | Meghalaya         | 167    | 151    | 242    | 266    | 219    |
| 18   | Mizoram           | 169    | 167    | 194    | 138    | 79     |
| 19   | Nagaland          | 15     | 27     | 41     | 9      | 12     |
| 20   | Odisha            | 1372   | 1928   | 249    | 1887   | 2036   |
| 21   | Punjab            | 666    | 596    | 489    | 411    | 389    |
| 22   | Rajasthan         | 1311   | 1479   | 1180   | 488    | 596    |
| 23   | Sikkim            | 55     | 92     | 87     | 118    | 91     |
| 24   | Tamil Nadu        | 1544   | 1583   | 1587   | 2039   | 2396   |
| 25   | Telangana         | 1394   | 1158   | 1632   | 1665   | 1998   |
| 26   | Tripura           | 133    | 156    | 139    | 127    | 176    |
| 27   | Uttar Pradesh     | 4541   | 4954   | 4895   | 5401   | 7594   |
| 28   | Uttarakhand       | 168    | 218    | 191    | 337    | 369    |
| 29   | West Bengal       | 1504   | 2132   | 2131   | 2267   | 2267   |
|      | TOTAL STATE(S)    | 32398  | 34223  | 30830  | 37830  | 45390  |
| 30   | A&N Islands       | 39     | 49     | 65     | 69     | 94     |
| 31   | Chandigarh        | 62     | 51     | 3      | 2      | 5      |
| 32   | D&N Haveli**      | 15     | 11     | 12     | 21     | 39     |
| 33   | Daman & Diu**     | 5      | 10     | 5      | 3      | 15     |
| 34   | Delhi             | 1936   | 1620   | 1623   | 1839   | 1719   |
| 35   | Lakshadweep       | 1      | 5      | 4      | 7      | 25     |
| 36   | Puducherry        | 49     | 53     | 66     | 56     | 48     |
|      | TOTAL UT(S)       | 2107   | 1799   | 1778   | 1997   | 1945   |
|      | TOTAL (ALL INDIA) | 34505  | 36022  | 32608  | 39827  | 47335  |

Source: Crime in India

*Now UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Laddakh