SC: Need to focus on states with poor disposal in POCSO cases

A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant was hearing a batch of petitions pertaining to sexual offences against women and children.

Citing a recent report on POSCO cases, the court said out of registered 40,000 cases, a mere 10,000 have been disposed of.

The court asked Attorney General K.K. Venugopal and other senior lawyers involved in the matter to recommend measures to counter the problem.

The top court asked the amicus curiae, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, to prepare a list of states facing maximum number of such cases. "We will put in extra effort for these states, where pendency is high", said the court.

During the hearing, the bench was informed that another bench is conducting a detailed hearing on a suo motu case. Then, the court observed that all these cases will be heard by a bench comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose. The court also pointed at involving organizations such as Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) to help it in dealing with sexual offences against children.

Last year in December, the apex court had taken suo motu cognisance of assessment of the criminal justice system in response to sexual offences. It observed that delay in cases like the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case is responsible for creating "agitation, anxiety and unrest" in the minds of people.