Only 15 percent of India’s child rape cases reach completed trial

Only 15.3 per cent of all cases relating to sexual offences against children in 2013 saw completion of trials in that year and the conviction rate for such crimes was a low 31.5 per cent, latest figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveal.

Nearly 85 per cent cases of child rape continue to be pending in various courts across India, according to the report.

Extreme reluctance of parents to bring their victimized children to courts, inability to ensure their anonymity and conflicting testimonies by kids scarred by assault are some of the primary reasons why sex crime cases against children tend to linger on.

But the biggest reason according to experts, including lawyers, activists and child counsellors is the tendency of the government to enact special laws for which it is unable to allocate required resources to enable implementation by the judiciary.

For instance, despite bringing in a “stringent” law such as ‘The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO)’, there has been a jump in sex crimes against children. And, most district court complexes across the country are yet to get a dedicated sessions court for POCSO or independent special public prosecutors as envisaged under the Act that came into force in November 2012.

Section 28 of the POCSO Act makes it mandatory for state government to establish “a court of session to be special court in every district” while section 32 mandates appointment of “special public prosecutors”.

Child rights lawyer Anant Asthana squarely blamed the Centre and state governments for high pendency of sex crime trials in courts. “The main reason for the high pendency is that the government doesn’t invest in improving the justice delivery system. They legislate frequently but don’t give the required infrastructure,” he said.

“Supreme Court has observed in its report on national court management system that government legislates but doesn’t provide financial allocation. So far the trend has been to meet any concern by bringing a new law. But if there is no allocation how can new magistrates be appointed, courtrooms be built and prosecutors recruited?” Asthana argued.

Judges who have dealt with cases of sexual offences against children agree. “The judicial process can’t be set aside in the name of speedy trial. The rights of the accused have to be respected and due process needs to be followed. Parents don’t want their already scared children to appear in courts and again face the accused. The overall ambience of a court where the child has to depose as a witness can hardly be termed friendly. The court has to handle the child witness very carefully and requires counselors and psychologists to reassure the kid,” a judge explained.