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KOCHI: Kerala stands fourth among the top five states in the number of cases pending trial under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. As per 2016 data, the state has 5,636 cases pending trial. According to the data provided in the Parliament recently , Maharashtra leads with 17,338 pending trials followed by Uttar Pradesh (15,843) and Madhya Pradesh (10,950). In 2016, Kerala reported 1,849 cases of which 1,323 cases were chargesheeted. While Kerala has become socially aware enough to report an abuse, the slow pace of trials and out-of-court settlement of cases has given the state a bad name.

“In a recent incident reported to Childline on August 14, the FIR was filed on August 16 but the police is yet to record the statement of the child. The parents have to run around for justice now,“ said advocate Sandhya J , former member of the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

She said that a lot of things which are protected by Pocso Act are being jeopardised, like the confidentiality of the survivor and speed of the trial. “The long process adds to the pressure that the survivor and the family undergoes. And in many cases, this leads to family withdrawing from the case,“ said Sandhya.

In 2016, a total of 249 cases entered trial stage out of which 202 cases ended in acquittal. “One of the main reasons is survivors turning hostile. And the hostility of a child cannot be compared to that of the adult. Because if the child changes statement, it means that their environment has influenced them and this needs to be investigated,“ she said.

Activists say that when survivors are moved out of their home and placed in a shelter, they stay with other survivors, especially Nirbhaya victims. Such cases witness more convictions, as they are less likely to be influenced they feel.

“In the last two-three years there has been an increase in the number of cases reported.But we don't have enough courts. There is a need to overhaul the criminal justice system which is dealing with crimes against children.A central government report stresses the need for the formation of an inter-ministerial committee with state government officials to chalk out a solution,“ said Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Rajya Sabha MP .

A similar backlog is seen in cases under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of children) Act in 2016. Here, Kerala leads the list of the Indian states and Union Territories with 793 cases.

“The main cause for pendancy is that the special court is overburdened. On top of that, the accused will also try and approach higher courts. Even special prosecutors are overburdened. We need to have more sensitive judges and prosecutors to resolve this issue,“ said Sandhya Raju , director, Human Rights Law Network (HRLN).

