More than 2.43 lakh cases under the POCSO Act were pending in fast-track special courts (FTSCs) as on January 31 this year despite the central government’s robust policy and financial commitment, according to a research paper published by an NGO.
In 2022, the number of such cases that resulted in conviction remained a mere three per cent nationally, it said.
The research paper — ‘Justice Awaits: An Analysis of the Efficacy of Justice Delivery Mechanisms in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse in India’ – released by India Child Protection Fund (ICPF) said that even if no new cases are added to the list, the country will need at least nine years to clear this backlog.
In some states such as Arunachal Pradesh and Bihar, it could take more than 25 years to bring the pending cases to closure.
The findings of the paper cast a huge question mark on the efficacy of the country’s judicial system, despite the central government’s 2019 landmark decision to set up fast-track special courts to provide