Udaipur- Estimations suggest that India will take almost nine years, assuming no new cases are added, to clear the backlog of cases pending under POCSO as of January 31, 2023. Despite various policies, efforts, and financial commitments, 2,43,237 cases were pending in the country's special fast-track courts created to hear POCSO cases. Even if not a single new case is added to this number of pending cases, it will take at least nine years to dispose of all these cases. Talking about Rajasthan, considering the current situation of 8921 case pendency, it will take about ten years to settle the pending POCSO cases.

At the state level, the number of years required to complete the pending cases as of January 2023 varies from one year in Karnataka and Goa to more than 25 years in Bihar, Delhi, and Arunachal Pradesh. In 15 states/UTs out of 36, either the number of years required to clear the backlog of POCSO cases has increased or remained unchanged compared to the previous estimations. The required number of years to clear the backlog in the remaining states has decreased.

These shocking facts have been revealed by a research paper titled 'Justice Awaits: An Analysis of the Efficacy of Justice Delivery Mechanisms in Cases of Child Abuse,' which was published by the India Child Protection Fund (ICPF) and released jointly with the Gayatri Seva Sansthan in Udaipur on Saturday.

The reports says, a similar estimation was made by the Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation five years ago in 2018, indicating that the country was taking eight years to clear the backlog of 2016. A comparison between the two estimations reveals an increase in the number of years required to clear the backlog in the last five years. Additionally, due to the year-on-year increase in the number of POCSO cases registered since 2016 and the slow case disposal rate, the number of pending cases has substantially increased since the last estimation. To complete these pending cases now, India needs nine more years.

Speaking to The Mooknayak, Dr. Shailendra Pandya, a former member of the Rajasthan Child Commission, Government of Rajasthan, and a child rights expert, said that the research paper has been prepared by the ICPF. To ensure justice for the child victims of sexual exploitation, various efforts are being made by the Central Government through a historic step in 2019 through the formation of fast-track special courts. However, this paper, after an in-depth study including the report of the National Crime Records Bureau, along with an effort to bring out the real situation in the field, will definitely prove helpful for decision-makers.

In India, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act of 2012 describes various forms of sexual offenses and prescribes punishments for any sexual activity with a child below 18 years. Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) includes an array of sexual activities such as fondling, inviting a child to touch or be touched sexually, intercourse, exhibitionism, involving a child in prostitution or pornography, or online child luring by cyber-predators.

The alarming rise in CSA and the slow rate of disposal were at the core of a special scheme launched by the Government of India. The scheme has been implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme since October 2010 for setting up and functioning of 1,023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for swift trial and delivery of justice to the victims of CSA across the country. The Union Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister of India, recently approved the continuation of the Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for the period of April 2023 to March 31, 2026, with a total cost of Rs. 1952.23 crore.

Low Conviction Rate: Cause of Concern

The key findings of the analysis are:

• At the national level, only 3 percent of cases resulted in convictions in 2022. Only 8,909 of the 2,68,038 cases that were under trial resulted in a conviction for the accused.

• On average, only 28 POCSO cases were disposed of by each FTSC in 2022.

• In 2022, the average expenditure for the disposal of each POCSO case amounted to INR 2.73 lakhs. Likewise, the average financial commitment from the public exchequer for each successfully convicted POCSO case was estimated to be INR 8.83 lakhs.

• India will take almost nine (9) years, assuming no new cases are added, to clear the backlog of POCSO cases pending as of January 31, 2023.

• Given the substantial backlog of 2.43 lakh pending POCSO cases, there is an imperative to conduct a comprehensive reassessment of the situation at the district level and establish new ePOCSO courts as necessary.

• All 1,023 sanctioned Fast Track Special Courts as per the scheme must be made fully functional immediately.

• For the victim, the fight for justice does not end even after conviction at the lower court, and until the appeal process is done, that fight continues. Hence, appeal/trial times must be defined to ensure speedy justice. Policies should be framed in this regard, and time-bound frameworks must be made at the High Court and Supreme Court levels to monitor and expedite the disposal of pending POCSO cases.

Discussing the trauma and pain suffered by child victims of sexual abuse and their families during the legal process in these cases, Nitin Paliwal, coordinator of Gayatri Seva Sansthan, Udaipur, said, “Imagine the trauma and pain suffered by the victims and their families. Can't be done either. Apart from this, these families often have to face unbearable difficulties and hardships in their search for justice. It is like remembering and living the atrocities and pain inflicted upon them on a daily basis. Justice at the earliest is the only way to relieve them from this suffering.”

ICPF Founder Advocates Urgent Reforms

ICPF Founder Bhuvan Ribhu termed the modest conviction rates as a matter of grave concern, despite strong policies, stringent laws, and substantial financial commitments in the country to prevent child marriage. Bhuvan Ribhu said, “The spirit of the law needs to be translated into justice for every child. If only three percent of those accused of sexual exploitation of children are punished, then it can be said that legal preventive measures have failed. If child victims are to be saved, the most important thing is to protect the children and their families, make arrangements for their rehabilitation and compensation and ensure timely trial of the entire judicial system from the lower courts to the higher courts like the High Court and the Supreme Court. Ensure settlement.”

ICPF has made several important recommendations to ensure justice to child victims of sexual exploitation in a time-bound and child-friendly manner and to resolve the pending cases. First, there should be a framework for all fast-track special courts to be operational and the number of cases they are disposing of. Apart from this, everyone from the police to the judges and the entire court staff attached to these courts should be kept solely for the work of these courts so that they can take up the cases on a priority basis. Also, there is a need to increase the number of these courts to dispose of pending cases.

NCRB Data Highlights Surge in Child Sexual Abuse and Legal System Struggles in India

Data published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that in 2021, 54,359 children and in 2022, 64,469 children were sexually abused in India. The number of cases pending trial at the end of the calendar year also increased from 2.05 lakh in 2021 to 2.39 lakh in 2022. This grim reality can be altered only when legal instruments created in 2012 specifically to control the crime of child sexual abuse are empowered and made efficient and effective. Ironically, since POCSO's formulation, not much has changed, as the comparative figure reveals that the number of children being sexually abused in the country has almost doubled in the last six years (increased from 33,210 in 2017 to 64,469 in 2022).

The NCRB data also provides the age profile of child rape victims. As per the reported data in 2022, 38,444 children were raped in the country. The age profile of these child victims suggests that half (51 percent) of them were aged between 16 to 18 years. More than one-tenth (11 percent) (4,081 out of 38,444) of children were less than 12 years of age. The rest two-fifths (35 percent) of child victims of rape were aged 12 to 16 years.