A decade of POCSO cases in Telangana: Over half remain pending trial as judicial backlog delays justice
A decade of data from Telangana reveals that over half of all POCSO cases remain pending trial, significantly delaying justice for child survivors. Legal experts attribute this backlog to the lack of dedicated special courts and judges exclusively assigned to handle child sexual abuse cases.
Why it matters
The systemic failure to process cases under the POCSO Act undermines the legal protection of children and highlights critical gaps in the judicial infrastructure.
When a special POCSO court in Hyderabad sentenced a gymnastics and karate coach to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment on June 17 for sexually assaulting a three-and-a-half-year-old girl inside a school's premises, it also highlighted another disturbing reality: it took six years for the child survivor to get justice.
The victim, a student of a private school in Miyapur, was sexually assaulted on June 27, 2019. The accused, Kura Kiran Sai, was convicted by the Special Court for Trial and Disposal of Rape and POCSO Act cases after a trial that stretched for six years, despite the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act being enacted to ensure speedy investigation and trial.
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