CHENNAI: Child rights activists have questioned why the Juvenile Justice Boards in Tamil Nadu lack the child-friendly facilities mandated by law when several Pocso courts have them.
“When there is a need for child-friendly facilities for a 14-year-old survivor with a 21-year-old accused, why does the same not apply to a 14-year-old survivor when the accused is a 17-year-old?” asked one child-rights activist.
Former Madras High Court judge Dr S Vimala stressed that child-friendly facilities must be made available in all courts hearing Pocso cases. The Department of Children Welfare and Special Services, in a letter dated May 10, 2025, informed the Registrar General of the Madras HC that the government had sanctioned `35 lakh for child-friendly facilities at regular POCSO courts in Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai, Tiruchy and Tirunelveli.
In a government order dated July 17, 2025, `10 lakh each was sanctioned for similar facilities in the districts of Chennai, Kancheepuram, Dharmapuri, Virudhunagar and Thoothukudi. Activists questioned why funds were allocated to the Chennai Pocso court when it already has child-friendly facilities and why funds were allocated to Kancheepuram when it does not have a Pocso court. They questioned why the funds were not given instead to additional Pocso courts and JJBs.
M Parvathy Srinivasan, a lawyer practising at JJBs for 15 years, said, “Only if JJBs function in government buildings planned for them can they provide child-friendly facilities.”
S Ramalingam, a former member of a JJB and Tamil Nadu State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said that although the government is planning to construct separate buildings for JJBs, it is progressing very slowly. “While JJBs are using available resources to prevent exposure of child victims to CCLs they may not be guaranteeing it. Even if they see the CCL once by accident, they may recollect the incident and get affected mentally.”
Psychiatrist and co-founder of Schizophrenia Research Foundation Dr Thara Rangaswamy said exposure to a CCL may increase psychological trauma among survivors. “As it is, children who survived such crimes would be deeply traumatised. Exposing them more to the CCLs would increase sensitivity and psychological trauma. There is a possibility of children getting affected in many ways. Some may not be able to focus on studies, some may go silent and some may become aggressive,” she said.