HC: POCSO not being implemented properly

MUMBAI: The POCSO Act for the protection of children is not being implemented properly, the Bombay High Court said on Tuesday, while hearing a suo-motu public interest litigation concerning the sexual assault on two kindergarten girls by a cleaning staff at a Badlapur school last month. The court also asked the police team probing the sexual assault to build a “watertight case” and not file a charge sheet hurriedly under public pressure.
Last month, the bench had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident that had drawn outrage across the city. “The POCSO Act is in place, the rules are in place; what is lacking is the implementation,” the court said. It also ordered the state government to include two retired high court judges and a retired IPS officer on the state-appointed committee “to suggest guidelines for the safety and security of children, irrespective of gender, in schools”.
The division bench of justice Revati Mohite Dere and justice Prithviraj Chavan directed the state government to add retired high court judges – justice Sadhana Jadhav and justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi, and retired IPS officer Meeran Borwankar as members on the state-appointed committee, specifically for laying down a standard operating procedure for proper implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
The judges said they also want two retired school principals on the committee to bring in a holistic view. The committee, the bench said, would come out with a standard operating procedure to follow in cases of sexual assaults on children. The committee must also keep in mind that recommendations should be for the protection of children regardless of gender. “Education of boys is important. ‘Bete ko padhao, beti ko bachao,’ (educate the boy and save the girl),” Justice Dere said, tweaking the government slogan.
During the course of hearing, the bench also expressed displeasure over the manner in which the case was being investigated. “We are not satisfied with the way in which the investigation is conducted so far,” the bench said, after going through the case diary of the SIT. The judges also criticized the “stereotypical” manner in which a case diary is maintained by the investigating officer, stating that the case diary does not show any special effort being taken to apprehend the absconding accused. “Purpose of case diary is frustrated if it is written stereotypically,” the court noted.
When advocate General Birendra Saraf, appearing for the government, told the court that a chargesheet would be filed shortly, the judges remarked, “Don’t file a charge-sheet under public pressure, investigation has to be done properly.” The court asked the AG to “ensure investigation is proper, everything is in order.” The court then directed him to go through the investigation papers and satisfy himself that everything was in order before charge-sheet was filed.
The bench noted that the SIT was formed as the local police did not probe the case properly, and “there was a strong outburst of the common man”. “This is a larger issue. This case will set a precedent for all such cases in future. Public is watching and what message we are giving is important,” the court added.
The court also directed the state government to sanction funds expeditiously in case they were needed by the judicial magistrate for recording video statements in addition to statements under Section 183 (recording of confessions and statements) of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Samhita, 2023.