CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Monday informed the Madras High Court that it has been working on framing a standard operating procedure (SOP) for expediting the investigations into cases filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and crimes against women.
The submission was made by Advocate General (AG) Vijay Narayan before the first division bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan when a petition filed by a rape survivor seeking the court to issue directions for completing trial in cases of crimes against women and children within the stipulated time frame.
“We are in the process of framing the SOP for expediting probe into Pocso Act cases and for crimes against women,” the AG said. He noted it requires fairly substantial upgradation of the infrastructure. “We are planning to have DNA and forensic labs in 5-6 regions,” he said while responding to a query by the bench.
The petitioner is a rape survivor hailing from Andhra Pradesh. She was subjected to the heinous crime on September 29, 2025, in Tiruvannamalai when two policemen – Suresh Raj and Sundar – intercepted the vehicle she was travelling in with her foster mother and uncle before taking her away to a secluded place and perpetrating the crime.
Pointing out that Section 346 (1) of BNSS provides for two-month time for completion of trial from the date of filing of the charge sheet, the petitioner noted the Tiruvannamalai Mahila Court has not commenced the trial despite the fact that the final report was filed on November 4, 2025.
She sought the court to issue directions to the trial courts not only in her case but in general to conduct trial on a day-to-day basis. The AG responded the charges were framed on June 17, 2026, and the trial is posted to June 24.
He added that several trial court judges are not taking the time frame, set in BNSS, seriously, and he wanted the high court to issue more comprehensive guidelines in this regard.
The bench directed the Registry of HC to submit a detailed report, within two weeks, listing the number of existing special courts for trial of Pocso cases and crimes against women and the requirements for strengthening them.