‘Only POCSO courts can deal with child abusers’

A division bench comprising Justice S Nagamuthu (since retired) and Justice P N Prakash gave the ruling while dealing with the legal issues referred to them by the Chief Justice to resolve the jurisdiction and the power of criminal courts in its entirety with a view to maintaining uniformity. The bench after an elaborate hearing held, “Whenever any person is arrested for any offence under POCSO Act and detained in custody and it appears that the investigation cannot be completed within 24 hours, the investigating officer shall immediately send the accused to the Special Court under the POCSO Act and the said court shall deal with the accused.” 

However, if the police are unable to produce the accused within 24 hours before the jurisdictional POCSO Court, the investigating officer may produce him before the nearest Judicial Magistrate, who may remand the accused to such custody for a term not exceeding 15 days and he shall, order the accused to be forwarded to the Special Court for further proceedings, the bench said and added that all subsequent remands shall be made only by the Special Court. 

The bench also clarified that so far as the exclusive special courts and the special courts under the SC & ST Act were concerned, the above order shall apply. 

The issue had arisen following the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dindigul, seeking instructions as to whether the judicial magistrates have the power to remand an accused involved in cases relating to offences under the POCSO Act and SC & ST Act. The High Court had then issued a circular to the effect that an accused, on arrest, for offences under the POCSO Act shall be produced only before the Judicial Magistrate Following the present order, the High Court circular has been quashed.