EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL PUBLIC PROSECUTORS NEEDED: SC

Public prosecutors must be trained to deal with child victims and witnesses in sexual harassment cases, the Supreme Court has said and laid emphasis on the need to develop a programme to train them. The top court said there is a need to have exclusive special public prosecutors for cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

"They need to know how to bring out the truth from children who are victims of sexual abuse and have to undergo the trauma again while recounting the traumatic experience. The job assigned to the public prosecutor for POCSO cases is a very onerous one which must be carried out with great care and sensitivity.

"Therefore not only is there a need to have exclusive public prosecutors but there is also a need to develop a training programme where these special public prosecutors should be trained to deal with issues which will arise in their courts. These issues may not be confined to legal issues which otherwise public prosecutors may be trained to deal with. The issues may be psychological, health and other related issues," a bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose said.

The apex court directed all states to appoint exclusive public prosecutors in all the courts that have been set up exclusively for POCSO cases. The apex court was hearing a petition with regard to "alarming rise in the number of reported child rape incidents" after taking suo motu cognisance. The top court had said states would have to set up two designated courts in districts where the number of pending cases of child abuse under POCSO is more than 300. Designated courts to must deal with only such cases under the law.