THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cases of children being abused have registered a 9.97% increase in monthly average so far this year from last year.
Chief minister himself has admitted to low conviction rate in such cases in the state though the number of special Pocso courts has increased.
The same is attributed to delay in completing investigation and trial which leads to victims and witnesses turning hostile, and untrained investigation and judicial officers
Last week, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed the assembly that Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act cases have a low conviction rate. He was replying to a question by MLA Roji M John. Pinarayi promised that the government is committed to ensuring the conviction of all accused of this brutal crime.Though the state government has increased the number of Pocso special courts in the last five years to ensure timely trial and conviction, such cases are on the rise in the capital district.
As per the statistics available with Kerala Police, Thiruvananthapuram district comprising (Thiruvananthapuram city and Rural) registered the highest number of Pocso cases last year. Of the 351 cases registered in the district, 240 were in rural limits. It was also the highest reported in the state.
Till June this year, a total of 193 Pocso cases were registered of which 155 were registered in rural limits while 38 cases were in the city. This means 32 cases were reported, on average, per month till June this year while 29 cases were reported per month last year. That is a 9.97% increase in the average number of cases reported per month.
In comparison with the city, the cases are high in Rural limits. While legal experts opine that the increase in cases reflects more awareness among people on the issue, the low conviction rate is a huge deterrent.According to police, mostly children in the age group of five-17 are becoming victims. The police said the accused in many of the cases are one way or the other related to the victims. The police said this crime has also become another fallout of the lockdown as children are confined to their homes.
The grim scenario, according to lawyers concerned, prevails mainly due to lapses committed by the police in filing chargesheets, delay by the hospitals in giving forensic reports and inadequacy of courts to dispose of such cases in a time-bound manner. Victims and witnesses turn hostile in some of the cases as the inordinate delay in proceedings allows the accused to influence them. As per the official data, 79% of victims and 44% of witnesses in Pocso cases in the district have turned hostile.
Ratheesh Chandran S, a criminal lawyer practising in a Pocso court in the capital, said the victims retract their statements in most cases. “This may be due to parental and societal pressure or losing interest in the case. Over 68% of cases have close relatives or neighbours are accused — one reason why the parents and relatives decide to settle the issue out of court. I have seen many cases wherein the parents are worried about the future of the children and they plead with the court to end the case. Such cases result in acquittal of the accused,” he said.
He added that the delay in filing the chargesheet also upends the trial. Though the norms dictate that the trial in a Pocso case should begin within a year, it happens quite rarely.Meanwhile, K Sanjay Kumar Gurudin, DIG ( South Zone), said special attention is being given to the investigation of Pocso cases. “The state police follow zero tolerance when it comes to crimes against children and all cases are properly registered and investigated. It is true that Pocso cases have been on the rise, but the reason cannot be just attributed to the increase in such incidents. The reporting of almost all cases has increased due to the better awareness, ease of reporting a crime through various platforms and response by the enforcement agencies. It is also a fact that the conviction rate needs to be improved.
“The main reason for acquittal of most of the accused in Pocso cases is witnesses and, in many cases, the victims themselves turning hostile. Almost in 80% of cases, the witnesses and victims turn hostile in addition to various other factors such as loopholes in the investigation, and delay in the trial. Special attention is being given to investigation in Pocso cases to plug the loopholes and strict adherence to the time limit as per law. The case are monitored till the DIG level before the chargesheet is filed.”
Reasons for low conviction
Criminologist James Vadakumcherry said the conviction rate in Pocso cases is low because of mainly four reasons. They are:
No well-trained police officials to investigate such cases, collect evidence and interrogate the culprits who often are the near and
dear ones
No qualified prosecutors to present the cases scientifically. The prosecutors are ordinary lawyers who have little or no knowledge of juvenile psychology or victimology
The judicial officers have no special education in the field of the trial of juvenile victims in Pocso cases
The witnesses are influenced by many who are closely related to the accused