HC asks petitioner seeking expeditious trial in POCSO case to approach ad-hoc committee

The Bombay High Court directed a petitioner who had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking an expeditious trial in cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, to approach the ad-hoc committee formed by the court.

A division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice Madhav Jamdar said it would pass orders on the PIL based on the outcome of the hearing before the committee.

The petitioner, Rashmi Taylor, had filed a Public Interest Litigation seeking directions to record the evidence of the victim and witnesses in a particular POCSO case of 2018 within 2 months. The petitioner herself was appointed as a “support person” for a 13-year-old victim. The petitioner pointed out that charges were framed by court against the accused in that case only after three years of filing the charge sheet.

Section 35 of the Act stipulates commencement and conclusion of the trial within a year and recording of the victim’s testimony within 30 days of the lower court taking cognisance of the case, but the provision is not being followed, the plea said. Failing to do so, the plea said, will not only increase the trauma of the victim but also favour the accused if the victim fails to give an accurate account of the incident in their testimony.

The committee consisting of three sitting judges - justice Revati Mohite Dere, justice A S Gadkari and justice Bharati Dangre - was set up on June 23. “We consider it appropriate to grant an opportunity to the petitioner, who has been working to uplift victims of sexual assault, to approach the committee and we are sure appropriate steps would be taken by it,” the bench said.