During a day-long consultation on the bill introduced in Parliament with respect to sexual offences against children on Friday, members and representatives of various bodies from across western India showed inclination towards having a special court for handling child sex abuse cases.
During a day-long consultation on the bill introduced in Parliament with respect to sexual offences against children on Friday, members and representatives of various bodies from across western India showed inclination towards having a special court for handling child sex abuse cases.
Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar, in association with National Law University (NLU), Delhi and the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), organized a consultation meet for the western region of India on the bill, 'Protection of Children from the Sexual Offences Bill, 2011'.
During this consultation, participating members and representatives of various bodies showed keen interest in having a special court.
NCPCR member, Dipa Dixit said, "According to the bill, state government has proposed the designation of special courts to try offences under the Act and for speedy trials.
However, its implementation is not going to be easy." She also said that to have a special judicial cadre for these special courts would imply special training programs for judges so that they are sensitized about the issue.
Dixit further added, "For the immediate new judicial cadre, this might be the best solution however in the long run, it is better to have law graduates specially trained for such cases and having their majors as protection of child against sexual offences." She said that it is easier for training students in child related legislation and child friendly procedures. However, she said that cost should also be taken into consideration.
Another suggestion made was of having a public servant assisting the victim and his or her family through the proceedings. According to NCPCR secretary, AN Tripathi, "Victims should be accompanied by a public servant who will assist them from the beginning i.e. from lodging of complaint till the final judgment.
Tripathi opined that this would help the child deal with the case without fearing or any other kind of psychological implications.
Inputs from Friday's meet will later be merged with inputs received from consultations carried out in other regions and will be given to NCPCR, Delhi. They will in turn give a consolidated report to the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
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