Kerala High Court Orders State to Upgrade Facilities at POCSO Courts
Kerala High Court directs the State to ensure POCSO special courts comply with guidelines and disclose the number of additional courts needed.
The Kerala High Court has directed the State government to ensure that special courts established under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, are equipped with adequate facilities, after finding that most such courts were functioning without them.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice K.V. Jayakumar issued the directions while hearing a matter concerning the functioning of these dedicated courts. The Bench also asked the State to disclose how many additional courts would be required to handle POCSO cases, taking into account directives issued by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court had earlier ordered that every district in the country with more than 100 registered cases under the Act must have a special court. It had also directed the Union government to provide funding for these courts, covering the appointment of presiding officers, special public prosecutors and court staff.
The High Court observed that where adequate space was unavailable, the State should arrange suitable rooms with sufficient infrastructure so that POCSO courts can operate in line with the prescribed guidelines.
During the proceedings, the petitioner submitted that the State had not met its obligation to appoint the required number of exclusive public prosecutors for these courts. The Supreme Court's directives had also asked the Chief Justices of all High Courts to ensure that special training programmes are developed in the Judicial Academy for Special Public Prosecutors attached to POCSO courts. Such training was to cover not only legal aspects but also areas including child psychology, child behaviour and paediatric health.