CHENNAI: The Madras High Court will undertake a thorough review of the functioning of the child welfare committees (CWCs) in the districts in order to improve their interventions based on a report filed by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working for the welfare of children.
A special division bench of Justices N Anand Venkatesh and Sunder Mohan has indicated that the review will be held in a full session.
Hearing cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, the bench recently said, “An interim report (on pending Pocso Act cases) has been filed by the NGO (Tulir) and a copy has been served to the additional public prosecutor. The issue regarding the functioning of CWC requires more focus and therefore, we are inclined to take up this issue separately and dedicate one entire hearing.”
Referring to the NGO’s report on pending Pocso Act cases, the bench noted that the former enlisted 464 cases, of which the parties concerned are willing to compromise on 133.
“Considering that all the cases are pending before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) of the district concerned, it will be more appropriate for the JJB to summon the parties and record their statements, and submit a report before the court. Based on the report, final orders can be passed in the 133 cases,” the bench said, directing the presiding officer of the JJB to be present through videoconferencing in the next hearing.
The bench also said the court cannot drag the 155 cases in which the parties are not willing for a compromise. These cases will hence have to be necessarily dealt with by the lower courts concerned on merits, it added. It noted that 148 other cases have either been disposed of or transferred out of the state.
Non-serious cases
Further, the bench said it will frame guidelines for determining, in future, by the principal sessions and district judges (PDJs) of all 38 districts, the “non-serious” Pocso Act cases, adding that the report submitted from PDJs on the criteria for identifying such types of cases have been shared with the additional public prosecutor, the amicus curiae and the NGO for their suggestions.
The bench, during the hearing, also quashed certain cases registered under the Pocso Act cases in various police stations in the Union Territory of Puducherry after the parties submitted their unwillingness for prosecution.