Kerala High Court orders better facilities for POCSO courts

The Kerala High Court has directed the State government to ensure that special courts handling cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, have adequate facilities. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice K.V. Jayakumar found that most of the special courts established under the law lacked adequate facilities.

The Bench also directed the State to disclose how many additional courts are needed for cases registered under the Act, taking into account directions issued by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has directed every district with more than 100 registered POCSO cases to establish a special court. The Union government was ordered to fund the appointment of presiding officers, special public prosecutors and court staff.

The High Court said that where suitable courtroom space was unavailable, the State should provide rooms with sufficient infrastructure so the courts could function according to statutory guidelines. The petitioner told the court that Kerala had not appointed the required number of exclusive public prosecutors for the courts. Supreme Court directions also call for Judicial Academies to provide special training covering law, child psychology, child behaviour and paediatric health.