The Supreme Court should be complimented for throwing the spotlight on a social malaise that is eating into the vitals of the Indian system and tarnishing the fair name of this country – child rape.

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While the mass media are filled with such tragic stories on a daily basis, the extent of its damage is often difficult to visualise. It has taken the apex court to bring a subject, which is still socially taboo despite its severity, out in the open.

Between January and June this year, 24,212 cases of child rapes were registered. There is no record of the number of such crimes since 2012, when the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was enacted. If this is the record in 2019, the total number of such cases may run into a few millions! It was time for an overhaul and the apex court has rightly moved in that direction.

It has asked for district-wise data on such cases that await justice delivery. Suitably, a senior advocate has been assigned the task of getting the information from all high courts and suggesting ways to improve investigation and clear the backlog of cases pending trial. As has been the history of the apex court, it has taken up the matter suo moto – something that has come to represent its activist side and is much required in an Indian system, which has lost its moral bearings.

The court seems inclined to favourably consider the suggestion that the country must have dedicated courts and judges to hear POCSO cases. The Act makes it mandatory for appointment of special prosecutors owing to the sensitivity attached to the young victims. The case for special courts assumes significance. A survey conducted by the apex court showed that only 4% of 11,900 cases registered this year were disposed of.