R E V I S E D

ITEM NO.305 COURT NO.1 SECTION PIL-W

S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

SUO MOTO WRIT (CRIMINAL) NO.1/2019

RE: ALARMING RISE IN THE NUMBER OF REPORTED CHILD RAPE INCIDENTS

WITH W.P.(C) No.819/2019 (PIL-W) (With appln.(s) for intervention)

Date : 13-11-2019 This petition was called on for hearing today.

CORAM :

HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DEEPAK GUPTA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJIV KHANNA

Mr. Surinder S. Rathi, Registrar, SCI Mr. Rakesh Kumar Singh, DJS

For Petitioner(s) By Courts Motion

• WP(C) 819/2019 Mr. Manoj V. George, Adv. Ms. Shilpa Liza George, Adv. Mr. Aakarsh Kamra, AOR Ms. Bhavika, Adv. Mr. Renjit Abraham, Adv.
• For Respondent(s) Mr. Tushar Mehta, SG Mr. A.N.S. Nadkarni, ASG Ms. Suhasini Sen, Adv. Mr. S.S. Rebello, Adv. Mr. Rajat Nair, Adv. Mr. N.K. Gokhle, Adv. Ms. Neela Gokhale, Adv. Mr. Ilam Paridi, Adv. Ms. Shradha Agrawal, Adv. Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, Adv. Mr. Rajeev Ranjan Rajesh, Adv. Digitally signed by CHETAN KUMAR Date: 2019.11.15 16:30:28 IST Reason: Signature Not Verified
  • Mr. Raj Bahadur, Adv.

Mr. A.K. Sharma, Adv. Mr. B.V. Balaram Das, Adv. Mr. G.S. Makker, Adv. Mr. P.N. Ravindran, Sr. Adv. Mr. T.G.N. Nair, Adv. Mr. V. G. Pragasam, AOR Mr. S. Prabu Ramasubramanian, Adv. Mr. S. Manuraj, Adv. Ms. Uttara Babbar, AOR Mr. Manan Bansal, Adv. Mr. Sunny Choudhary, AOR Mr. Sumeer Sodhi, AOR Mr. Sherick Dhingra, Adv. Mr. Subhasish Mohanty, AOR Mr. Som Raj Choudhury, AOR Mr. Prashant Kumar, Adv. Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, AOR Mr. Kabir Shankar Bose, Adv. Mr. Prem Sunder Jha, AOR Mr. Nishant Ramakantrao Katneshwarkar, AOR Mr. Anoop Kandari, Adv. Mr. Milind Kumar, AOR Mr. Mahfooz Ahsan Nazki, AOR Mr. Gowtham Polanki, Adv. Mr. Avinash Tripathi, Adv. Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, AOR Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv. Ms. Jaspreet Gogia, AOR Mr. Gopal Prasad, AOR Mr. Jayesh Gaurav, Adv. Shalya Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Udit Bansal, Adv. Ms. Astha Sharma, AOR Mr. Siddhesh Kotwal, Adv. Ms. Bansuri Swaraj, Adv. Ms. Arshiya Ghose, Adv.

Mr. Divyansh Tiwari, Adv. Ms. Ana Upadhyay, Adv. Mr. Ashok Mathur, AOR Ms. Aruna Mathur, Adv. Mr. Avneesh Arputham, Adv. Ms. Anuradha Arputham, Adv. Ms. Geetanjali, Adv. M/s. Arputham Aruna and Co., Mr. Arjun Garg, AOR Mr. Aakash Nandolia, Adv. Mr. S. Mahesh Sahasranaman, Adv. Mr. Annam D. N. Rao, AOR Mr. Venkatish Rao, Adv. Mr. Rahul Mishra, Adv. Ms. C. Sharma, Adv. Mr. Aniruddha P. Mayee, AOR Mr. A. Rajarajan, Adv. Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, Adv. Mr. Aniruddha P. Mayee, AOR Mr. A. Rajarajan, Adv. Mr. Abhinav Mukerji, AOR Mr. Samarth Khanna, Adv. Mrs. Bihu Sharma, Adv. Ms. Pratishtha Vij, Adv. Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari, AOR Ms. Eliza Bar, Adv. Mr. P.H. Parekh, Sr. Adv. Ms. Tanya Chaudhry, Adv. Ms. Pratyusha Priyadarshini, Adv. Ms. Nikita Pandey, Adv. Mr. Nikhil Ramdev, Adv. Ms. Ashna Bhatnagar, Adv. For M/s. Parekh & Co. Mr. R. P. Gupta, AOR Intervenor-in-person Mr. B. V. Balaram Das, AOR Ms. Diksha Rai, AOR Ms. Palak Mahajan, Adv.

Dr. Rajesh Pandey, Adv. Ms. Shweta Mulchandani, Adv. Ms. Tanuja Manjari Patra, Adv. Ms. Aswathi M.K., AOR Mr. Kaarthi, Adv. Ms. Yogita Ahuja, Adv. Mr. Mahesh Pandey, Adv. Mr. V. N. Raghupathy, AOR Mr. Manendra Pal Gupta, Adv. Mr. Leishangthem Roshmani Kh, AOR Ms. Anupama Ngangom, Adv. Mr. Aribam Jankinath Sharma, Adv. Mr. Ravi Prakash Mehrotra, AOR Mr. Ankit Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Amartya Singh, Adv. Mr. Raghvendra Kumar, Adv. Mr. Anand Kr. Dubey, Adv. Mr. Narendra Kumar, AOR Mr. Jayanth Muth Raj, Sr. Adv., AAG Mr. M. Yogesh Kanna, AOR Mr. S. Raja Rajeshwaran, Adv. Mr. Sarvesh Singh Baghel, Adv. Ms. Garima Prashad, AOR Ms. Harshita Raghuvanshi, Adv. Mr. Srinivas Vishven, Adv. Ms. Akshara Chauhan, Adv. Shreyase Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Jatinder Kumar Bhatia, AOR Mr. Ashutosh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Suhaan Mukerji, Adv. Ms. Astha Sharma, Adv. Mr. Amit Verma, Adv. Ms. Kajal Dalal, Adv. Mr. Prastut Dalvi, Adv. Mr. Naveen Kumar, Adv. M/s. PLR Chambers And Co. Mr. K.V. Jagdishvaran, Adv. Ms. G. Indira, AOR Mr. Piyush Dwivedi, AOR Ms. Priyanka Dixit, Adv.

Mr. Nikhil Goel, AOR Ms. Naveen Goel, Adv. Mr. Dushyant Sarna, Adv. Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, Adv. Ms. Rekha Bakshi, Adv. Mr. Shaurya Sahay, Adv. Mr. T.K. Nayak, Adv. Mr. P.S. Negi, Adv. Ms. Shruti Ram Kochar, Adv. Mr. K.V. Kharlyngdoh, Adv. Mr. Apoorv Kurup, Adv. Mr. Baibhaw Gahlaut, Adv. Ms. Upma Bhatacherjee, Adv. Mr. Arun R. Pedneker, Adv. Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Ms. Mukti Chaudhry, Adv. Mr. K. Parameshwar, Adv. Mr. M.V. Mukunda, Adv. Mr. Ankit Goel, Adv. Mr. R.K. Gupta, Adv. Mr. S. Kumar Jain, Adv. Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Ms. Anika Nissar Sayyed, Adv. Mr. Ranjan Mukherjee, Adv. Mr. K.V. Kharlyngdoh, Adv. Mr. Upendra Mishra, Adv. Mr. T.K. Nayak, Adv. Mr. Deniel Stone Lyngdoh, Adv. Mr. Vikas Mahajan, AAG Mr. Joydip Roy, Adv. Mr. Vinod Sharma, Adv. Mr. Anil Kumar, Adv. Mr. Akash Verma, Adv. Ms. Monika Gusain, Adv. Mr. Chirag M. Shroff, Adv. Ms. Mahima C. Shroff, Adv. Ms. Yashika Verma, Adv. Ms. Riya Thomas, Adv. Dr. Manish Singhvi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shailja Nanda Mishra, Adv. Mr. Arpit Parkash, Adv.

Mr. D.K. Devesh, Adv. Mr. Sanjai Kumar Pathak, Adv. Ms. Shashi Pathak, Adv. Mr. Arvind Kumar Tripathi, Adv. Mr. G. Prakash, Adv. Mr. Jishnu M.L., Adv. Mrs. Priyanka Prakash, Adv. Mrs. Beena Prakash, Adv. Mr. Vinay Arora, Adv. Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Jain, Adv. Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Annika Nissar Sayyed, Adv. for Mr. A.S. Syyed, Adv. Ms. Sneha Kalita, Adv. Mr. Kunal Chatterji, Adv. Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Adv. Mr. P.I. Jose, Adv. Mr. Harikumar V, Adv. Mr. M. Shoeb Alam, AOR Mr. Mojahid Karim Khan, Adv. Mr. D. Rama Krishna Reddy, Adv. Ms. Poonam Kaushik, Adv.

Ms. Gagan Deep Kaur, Adv.

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following O R D E R

We have gone through the report of Shri Surinder S. Rathi, Registrar of the Supreme Court. In paragraphs 7.1 to 7.9 of the said Report, the relevant figures are mentioned, which are being extracted below:-

"7.1 Percentage share of different types of offences under POCSO (National Analysis):

POCSO Offence	Rounded Percentage
Penetrative Sexual Assault {S.4}	32.1
Aggravated Penetrative Sexual	24

Assault {S.6} Sexual Assault {S.8} 31 Aggravated Sexual Assault {S.10} 3 Sexual Harassment {S.12} 8 Use of Children for Pornography 1 {S.14 & 15} Abetment {S.17} 2 7.2 Gender-wise percentage of victimisation under POCSO FIRs: Girl – 80% Boy – 6% Other – 14% 7.3 Age profile of Victims under POCSO: 0-6 yrs - 4% 6-12 yrs - 13% 13-16 yrs - 60% 16-18 yrs - 22% 7.4 Whether accused is Known/Stranger or Relative of victim: Friends & Neighbours - 27% Relatives - 7% School Staff - 1% Other known person - 56% Stranger - 9% 7.5 Time taken in completion of investigation: Within 30 days - 18% 31-60 days - 17% 61-180 days - 29% 181-365 days - 16% More than one year - 20% 7.6 Time taken by Police in depositing Samples with FSL Laboratory: Within 30 days - 51% 31-60 days - 19% 61-180 days - 17% 181-365 days - 6% More than one year - 7% 7.7 Percentage of cases in which support person is

provided:

Support Person not provided - 96% Support Person provided - 4%

7.8 Percentage of cases in which interim compensation/final compensation provided:

Interim Compensation NOT provided	-	99%
Interim Compensation provided	-	1%
Final Compensation NOT provided	-	99%
Final Compensation provided	-	1%

7.9 Pendency of POCSO Cases in percentage (Sec.35(2) mandates trial to be completed within one year):

	Pending for more than 4 years	-	8%
	Pending for 3-4 years	-	10%
	Pending for 2-3 years	-	17%
	Pending for 1-2 years	-	28%
	Pending for less than 1 year	-	37%"

This report shows a shocking state of affairs. What to talk of trials, in 20% of the cases even investigation is not completed within one year. Virtually, no support persons are provided and no compensation is paid to the victims. Almost two-third of the cases are pending trial for more than one year.

It appears that at all stages of dealing with POCSO cases commencing with the investigation up to the stage of trial, the time lines stipulated under the Act have not been complied with. From the report of Shri Rathi, it appears that one major reason for the inability of the stake holders to meet the deadline stipulated under the Act, is lack of awareness and lack of dedication in completing investigation, etc. within the time frame stipulated and also inadequacy of the number of courts which has resulted in cases remaining pending beyond the period mandated for completion of trial under the Act.

We hope and expect that the Central Government will

play a much more proactive role to ensure that trials of cases arising out of the POCSO Act are completed in the time frame laid down in the Act.

We direct all the State Governments as well as the Union of India to do what is required to be done to ensure that all stages of investigation as well as trial, as contemplated under the Act, are completed within the time frame by creation of additional force for investigation. We further direct the Union of India and the State Governments to take steps for sensitization of officials associated with the investigation and also for creation or assignment of dedicated courts to try POCSO cases on top priority so that charge-sheets are filed within the mandatory period and trials are completed within the time frame contemplated under the Act.

Report of the action taken will be placed before this Court and will be considered by a Bench headed by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Deepak Gupta.

List the matter on 12th December, 2019.

The response of the Union of India on the draft scheme of compensation filed before this Court by Shri Surinder S. Rathi, Registrar of the Supreme Court be also submitted in the course of the aforesaid period.

We have also perused the report submitted by Shri Dharmesh Sharma, District & Sessions Judge (West), Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi and accede to his request for extending the time to complete the trial by 30th November, 2019.

A.R.-cum-P.S. Court Master

(Chetan Kumar) (Anand Prakash)

ITEM NO.305 COURT NO.1 SECTION PIL-W

S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

SUO MOTO WRIT (CRIMINAL) NO.1/2019

RE: ALARMING RISE IN THE NUMBER OF REPORTED CHILD RAPE INCIDENTS

WITH W.P.(C) No.819/2019 (PIL-W) (With appln.(s) for intervention)

Date : 13-11-2019 This petition was called on for hearing today.

CORAM :

HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE
		HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DEEPAK GUPTA
		HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJIV KHANNA

For Petitioner(s)	By Courts Motion
WP(C) 819/2019	Mr. Manoj V. George, Adv.<br>Ms. Shilpa Liza George, Adv.<br>Mr. Aakarsh Kamra, AOR<br>Ms. Bhavika, Adv.<br>Mr. Renjit Abraham, Adv.
For Respondent(s)	Mr. Tushar Mehta, SG<br>Mr. A.N.S. Nadkarni, ASG<br>Ms. Suhasini Sen, Adv.<br>Mr. S.S. Rebello, Adv.<br>Mr. Rajat Nair, Adv.<br>Mr. N.K. Gokhle, Adv.<br>Ms. Neela Gokhale, Adv.<br>Mr. Ilam Paridi, Adv.<br>Ms. Shradha Agrawal, Adv.<br>Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, Adv.<br>Mr. Rajeev Ranjan Rajesh, Adv.<br>Mr. Raj Bahadur, Adv.<br>Mr. A.K. Sharma, Adv.<br>Mr. B.V. Balaram Das, Adv.<br>Mr. G.S. Makker, Adv.<br>Mr. P.N. Ravindran, Sr. Adv.

Mr. T.G.N. Nair, Adv. Mr. V. G. Pragasam, AOR Mr. S. Prabu Ramasubramanian, Adv. Mr. S. Manuraj, Adv. Ms. Uttara Babbar, AOR Mr. Manan Bansal, Adv. Mr. Sunny Choudhary, AOR Mr. Sumeer Sodhi, AOR Mr. Sherick Dhingra, Adv. Mr. Subhasish Mohanty, AOR Mr. Som Raj Choudhury, AOR Mr. Prashant Kumar, Adv. Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, AOR Mr. Kabir Shankar Bose, Adv. Mr. Prem Sunder Jha, AOR Mr. Nishant Ramakantrao Katneshwarkar, AOR Mr. Anoop Kandari, Adv. Mr. Milind Kumar, AOR Mr. Mahfooz Ahsan Nazki, AOR Mr. Gowtham Polanki, Adv. Mr. Avinash Tripathi, Adv. Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, AOR Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv. Ms. Jaspreet Gogia, AOR Mr. Gopal Prasad, AOR Mr. Jayesh Gaurav, Adv. Shalya Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Udit Bansal, Adv. Ms. Astha Sharma, AOR Mr. Siddhesh Kotwal, Adv. Ms. Bansuri Swaraj, Adv. Ms. Arshiya Ghose, Adv. Mr. Divyansh Tiwari, Adv. Ms. Ana Upadhyay, Adv.

Mr. Ashok Mathur, AOR

Ms. Aruna Mathur, Adv. Mr. Avneesh Arputham, Adv. Ms. Anuradha Arputham, Adv. Ms. Geetanjali, Adv. M/s. Arputham Aruna and Co., Mr. Arjun Garg, AOR Mr. Aakash Nandolia, Adv. Mr. S. Mahesh Sahasranaman, Adv. Mr. Annam D. N. Rao, AOR Mr. Venkatish Rao, Adv. Mr. Rahul Mishra, Adv. Ms. C. Sharma, Adv. Mr. Aniruddha P. Mayee, AOR Mr. A. Rajarajan, Adv. Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, Adv. Mr. Aniruddha P. Mayee, AOR Mr. A. Rajarajan, Adv. Mr. Abhinav Mukerji, AOR Mr. Samarth Khanna, Adv. Mrs. Bihu Sharma, Adv. Ms. Pratishtha Vij, Adv. Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari, AOR Ms. Eliza Bar, Adv. Mr. P.H. Parekh, Sr. Adv. Ms. Tanya Chaudhry, Adv. Ms. Pratyusha Priyadarshini, Adv. Ms. Nikita Pandey, Adv. Mr. Nikhil Ramdev, Adv. Ms. Ashna Bhatnagar, Adv. For M/s. Parekh & Co. Mr. R. P. Gupta, AOR Intervenor-in-person Mr. B. V. Balaram Das, AOR Ms. Diksha Rai, AOR Ms. Palak Mahajan, Adv. Dr. Rajesh Pandey, Adv. Ms. Shweta Mulchandani, Adv. Ms. Tanuja Manjari Patra, Adv. Ms. Aswathi M.K., AOR

Mr. Kaarthi, Adv. Ms. Yogita Ahuja, Adv. Mr. Mahesh Pandey, Adv. Mr. V. N. Raghupathy, AOR Mr. Manendra Pal Gupta, Adv. Mr. Leishangthem Roshmani Kh, AOR Ms. Anupama Ngangom, Adv. Mr. Aribam Jankinath Sharma, Adv. Mr. Ravi Prakash Mehrotra, AOR Mr. Ankit Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Amartya Singh, Adv. Mr. Raghvendra Kumar, Adv. Mr. Anand Kr. Dubey, Adv. Mr. Narendra Kumar, AOR Mr. Jayanth Muth Raj, Sr. Adv., AAG Mr. M. Yogesh Kanna, AOR Mr. S. Raja Rajeshwaran, Adv. Mr. Sarvesh Singh Baghel, Adv. Ms. Garima Prashad, AOR Ms. Harshita Raghuvanshi, Adv. Mr. Srinivas Vishven, Adv. Ms. Akshara Chauhan, Adv. Shreyase Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Jatinder Kumar Bhatia, AOR Mr. Ashutosh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Suhaan Mukerji, Adv. Ms. Astha Sharma, Adv. Mr. Amit Verma, Adv. Ms. Kajal Dalal, Adv. Mr. Prastut Dalvi, Adv. Mr. Naveen Kumar, Adv. M/s. PLR Chambers And Co. Mr. K.V. Jagdishvaran, Adv. Ms. G. Indira, AOR Mr. Piyush Dwivedi, AOR Ms. Priyanka Dixit, Adv. Mr. Nikhil Goel, AOR Ms. Naveen Goel, Adv. Mr. Dushyant Sarna, Adv. Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, Adv.

Ms. Rekha Bakshi, Adv. Mr. Shaurya Sahay, Adv. Mr. T.K. Nayak, Adv. Mr. P.S. Negi, Adv. Ms. Shruti Ram Kochar, Adv. Mr. K.V. Kharlyngdoh, Adv. Mr. Apoorv Kurup, Adv. Mr. Baibhaw Gahlaut, Adv. Ms. Upma Bhatacherjee, Adv. Mr. Arun R. Pedneker, Adv. Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Ms. Mukti Chaudhry, Adv. Mr. K. Parameshwar, Adv. Mr. M.V. Mukunda, Adv. Mr. Ankit Goel, Adv. Mr. R.K. Gupta, Adv. Mr. S. Kumar Jain, Adv. Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Ms. Anika Nissar Sayyed, Adv. Mr. Ranjan Mukherjee, Adv. Mr. K.V. Kharlyngdoh, Adv. Mr. Upendra Mishra, Adv. Mr. T.K. Nayak, Adv. Mr. Deniel Stone Lyngdoh, Adv. Mr. Vikas Mahajan, AAG Mr. Joydip Roy, Adv. Mr. Vinod Sharma, Adv. Mr. Anil Kumar, Adv. Mr. Akash Verma, Adv. Ms. Monika Gusain, Adv. Mr. Chirag M. Shroff, Adv. Ms. Mahima C. Shroff, Adv. Ms. Yashika Verma, Adv. Ms. Riya Thomas, Adv. Dr. Manish Singhvi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shailja Nanda Mishra, Adv. Mr. Arpit Parkash, Adv. Mr. D.K. Devesh, Adv. Mr. Sanjai Kumar Pathak, Adv. Ms. Shashi Pathak, Adv. Mr. Arvind Kumar Tripathi, Adv. Mr. G. Prakash, Adv. Mr. Jishnu M.L., Adv. Mrs. Priyanka Prakash, Adv. Mrs. Beena Prakash, Adv. Mr. Vinay Arora, Adv. Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Jain, Adv. Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Annika Nissar Sayyed, Adv. for Mr. A.S. Syyed, Adv. Ms. Sneha Kalita, Adv. Mr. Kunal Chatterji, Adv. Ms. Maitrayee Banerjee, Adv. Mr. P.I. Jose, Adv. Mr. Harikumar V, Adv. Mr. M. Shoeb Alam, AOR Mr. Mojahid Karim Khan, Adv. Mr. D. Rama Krishna Reddy, Adv. Ms. Poonam Kaushik, Adv. Ms. Gagan Deep Kaur, Adv. Mr. Surinder S. Rathi, Registrar

Mr. Rakesh Kr. Sharma

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following O R D E R

We have gone through the report of Shri Surinder S. Rathi, Registrar of the Supreme Court. In paragraphs 7.1 to 7.9 of the said Report, the relevant figures are mentioned, which are being extracted below:-

"7.1 Percentage share of different types of offences under POCSO (National Analysis):

POCSO Offence Rounded Percentage

Penetrative Sexual Assault {S.4}	32.1
Aggravated Penetrative Sexual	24
Assault {S.6}
Sexual Assault {S.8}	31

Aggravated Sexual Assault {S.10} 3 Sexual Harassment {S.12} 8 Use of Children for Pornography 1 {S.14 & 15} Abetment {S.17} 2 7.2 Gender-wise percentage of victimisation under POCSO FIRs: Girl – 80% Boy – 6% Other – 14% 7.3 Age profile of Victims under POCSO: 0-6 yrs - 4% 6-12 yrs - 13% 13-16 yrs - 60% 16-18 yrs - 22% 7.4 Whether accused is Known/Stranger or Relative of victim: Friends & Neighbours - 27% Relatives - 7% School Staff - 1% Other known person - 56% Stranger - 9% 7.5 Time taken in completion of investigation: Within 30 days - 18% 31-60 days - 17% 61-180 days - 29% 181-365 days - 16% More than one year - 20% 7.6 Time taken by Police in depositing Samples with FSL Laboratory: Within 30 days - 51% 31-60 days - 19% 61-180 days - 17% 181-365 days - 6% More than one year - 7% 7.7 Percentage of cases in which support person is provided:

Support Person not provided - 96%

Support Person provided - 4%

7.8 Percentage of cases in which interim compensation/final compensation provided:

Interim Compensation NOT provided	-	99%
Interim Compensation provided	-	1%
Final Compensation NOT provided	-	99%
Final Compensation provided	-	1%

7.9 Pendency of POCSO Cases in percentage (Sec.35(2) mandates trial to be completed within one year):

	Pending for more than 4 years	-	8%
	Pending for 3-4 years	-	10%
	Pending for 2-3 years	-	17%
	Pending for 1-2 years	-	28%
	Pending for less than 1 year	-	37%"

This report shows a shocking state of affairs. What to talk of trials, in 20% of the cases even investigation is not completed within one year. Virtually, no support persons are provided and no compensation is paid to the victims. Almost two-third of the cases are pending trial for more than one year.

It appears that at all stages of dealing with POCSO cases commencing with the investigation up to the stage of trial, the time lines stipulated under the Act have not been complied with. From the report of Shri Rathi, it appears that one major reason for the inability of the stake holders to meet the deadline stipulated under the Act, is lack of awareness and lack of dedication in completing investigation, etc. within the time frame stipulated and also inadequacy of the number of courts which has resulted in cases remaining pending beyond the period mandated for completion of trial under the Act.

We hope and expect that the Central Government will play a much more proactive role to ensure that trials of cases arising out of the POCSO Act are completed in the time frame laid down in the Act.

We direct all the State Governments as well as the Union of India to do what is required to be done to ensure that all stages of investigation as well as trial, as contemplated under the Act, are completed within the time frame by creation of additional force for investigation. We further direct the Union of India and the State Governments to take steps for sensitization of officials associated with the investigation and also for creation or assignment of dedicated courts to try POCSO cases on top priority so that charge-sheets are filed within the mandatory period and trials are completed within the time frame contemplated under the Act.

Report of the action taken will be placed before this Court and will be considered by a Bench headed by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Deepak Gupta.

List the matter on 12th December, 2019.

The response of the Union of India on the draft scheme of compensation filed before this Court by Shri Surinder S. Rathi, Registrar of the Supreme Court be also submitted in the course of the aforesaid period.

We have also perused the report submitted by Shri Dharmesh Sharma, District & Sessions Judge (West), Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi and accede to his request for extending the time to complete the investigation by 30th November, 2019.

(Chetan Kumar) (Anand Prakash) A.R.-cum-P.S. Court Master