The Supreme Court on Friday donned the mantle of a petitioner to seek justice for the child rape victims after a discreet research ordered by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi revealed that out of 24,000 cases, only 4% have been decided by courts. A whopping 11,900 child rape cases are pending investigation.
Converting the research data into public interest litigation, a bench headed by the CJI took suo motu notice of the same in open court and appointed senior advocate V Giri to assist them in passing remedial measures.
Focussing on cases under trial and those under investigation, the bench asked Giri to consider the nature of directions to be issued to all states and high courts. This could pertain to setting up additional courts, requisitioning judicial manpower, special investigation units, video conferencing facilities, said the bench, comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose. The Court asked Giri to present his suggestions by Monday.
The data compiled by the Supreme Court Registry presents a gloomy picture of how child victims of rape have to wait for years seeking justice. The survey indicated that out of the 24,212 FIRs of child rape cases registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012, about 49% cases (11,981) are under investigation. Of these, in 4871 cases, final investigation report has been tabled by police in courts but trial is yet to begin. In 6449 cases, trial has begun but not concluded. Only 911 cases have been disposed of by the courts, accounting for just 4% of the total FIRs registered.
The figure collected by the top court is based on data received from 24 high courts in the country for the period between January and June this year. The high courts have given the statewise break-up considering the fact that some high courts are common to two or more states. The exercise undertaken by the apex court could set the foundation for a major overhaul in the system and pave way for path-breaking criminal reforms in child rape cases.
The apex court told Giri that the cases of child rape show an upward trend and somewhere the deterrent effect of law to punish the offenders is lacking. This fear needs to be reimposed. This move could possibly have been triggered by the reports appearing in national and international media which show India's criminal justice system in a bad light. Moreover, the scars on the minds of child rape victims continue to live with them for years together due to delayed trial.
