On the first day of its formation, the special court constituted for the trial of atrocities against women, completed the hearing of a rape case and reserved its orders for Tuesday. The victim in the case is a woman belonging to the SC/ST category.
The Additional District and Sessions Court (for the trial of cases related to atrocities and sexual violence against women and children), set up at the fifth floor of Revenue Tower, Ernakulam, considered six cases on the first day.
All the cases had been pending before the Sessions Court in Ernakulam for more than seven years.
C Suresh Kumar, the Additional District and Sessions Judge, has decided to speed up the case and will pass his verdict on Tuesday.
The case was registered at the Thrikkakkara police in 2004. The trial against the first accused was completed earlier, resulting in his acquittal.
The trial against the second accused, Manoj alias Manu, was completed on Monday.
The accused is alleged to have sexually abused the women at a lodge in Ernakulam. The prosecution submitted that the accused raped her, after threatening to disclose her relation with the first accused. The police charged the offence under IPC 376 (rape).
A total of 30 cases from various trail courts were sent to the special court.
The state government has promised to set up two more such courts, one in north Kerala and another in Thiruvananthapuram.
However, government is yet to notify the jurisdiction of the Ernakulam Sessions Court, which is currently considering cases registered in Ernakulam.