LOW CONVICTION FOR SEX CRIMES AGAINST KIDS

Completion of trial, punishment within 3 months of charge sheet sought

Even as the Centre issued an ordinance announcing the death penalty for those convicted of raping children below 12, thousands of cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) remain pending nationwide.

The conviction rate for sexual offences against children is also relatively low at just about 30 per cent, compared to other crimes. The low conviction rate, coupled with the large backlog, has ensured that it will take several years before the pending cases are cleared.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) says every year more than 30,000 cases are registered under various Sections of Pocso, with a majority of them being sexual offences against minors. In 2016, of the 830 cases registered in AP, 459 were cases of child rape. NCRB records show that across India, more than 90,000 cases registered under Pocso were pending in the end of 2016, and trial has been completed in only 10,884 cases, with a conviction rate of 29.6 per cent.

Even in those cases in which the trial had been completed, the conviction rate under Pocso was much lower than the overall conviction rate for other crimes, which stood at 46.8 per cent. In 2014, the rate was 30.4 per cent, against 45.1 per cent for all crimes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In 2015, the conviction rate for Pocso cases improved to 36.3 per cent against 46.9 per cent for other IPC crimes.

Admitting that most of the cases registered under Pocso were pending with various police stations and courts, senior advocate K. Muralidhar said fast-track court must be set up for sexual offences against children, and trial and punishment must be completed within three months of filing of the charge sheet.

Efforts must be made to secure the protection of victims so they have no fears about deposing before a court of law. Defective investigation, changing stances of victims, and the ‘unfriendly atmosphere’ of police stations and courts are major reasons for the low conviction rate, Muralidhar added. Sources said if police and lower judiciary work together, the new ordinance will prove an effective deterrent against rape.