Srinagar: The Ministry of Women and Child Development Friday informed the parliament that a total of 254 cases under POCSO were pending in Jammu and Kashmir between 2015-19.
The Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani was giving the details of the cases of child sexual abuse pending in various courts during the last five years and whether the government has formulated any special plan to reduce/dispose of such cases pending for long in various courts of the country.
In a written reply, the Minister said that the Union of India has initiated a scheme for setting up 1023 Fast Track Special Court including 389 exclusive POCSO courts for expeditious trial and disposal of cases related to rape and POCSO Act.
“660 FTSCs including 343 exclusive POCSO courts have been made operational till June 2021 which has disposed of more than 51,600 pending cases as per information made available by High Courts,” the reply informed.
About the figures of Jammu and Kashmir, the reply said that a total of 254 cases under POCSO were registered in the region between the year 2015-19.
The Ministry also informed the parliament that a total of 1,302 cases of crimes against children have been registered in Jammu and Kashmir in the last three years, while only a single case of offense by juvenile home caretaker and in-charge was registered.
The Minister of Women and Child Smriti Irani Friday in a written reply said that the National and State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights are mandated to monitor the implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, inter alia.
“The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had conducted Social Audit of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) in the country. The irregularities and violations observed therein were communicated to the concerned District Magistrate and Deputy Commissioner for taking necessary action,” reads the reply.
It reads that in addition, as per the report submitted by the States/UTs, 436 institutions were closed on account of non-compliance of provisions of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 from 01.08.2019 to 01.08.2020.
Giving details regarding Jammu and Kashmir, the Minister said that a total of 1,302 cases were registered under the crime against children between 2017 and 2019.
The reply informed that only a single case of offense by caretakers/in-charge of juvenile homes has come up from 2017 to 2019 in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the year 2019.
