Swarna Shukla –
Published On: October 11, 2021 at 10:00 IST
In order to alleviate the burden of Special Courts handling Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act cases in three Districts- Madurai, Salem and Tiruvannamalai- the Tamil Nadu Government on 21st May issued a Government Order transferring such cases, involving girls aged between 16 and 18 to Mahila Courts.
The above move was followed by a decision by the POCSO Committee on 3rd December, 2020, to shift out these cases as many belonged to girls escaping and getting married. The Act does not recognize the consent of a person below the age of 18.
As per the Government Order, the Mahila Courts in these Districts have been designated as Additional Special Courts for POCSO Act cases, and the existing Special Courts in the Districts are designated as Principal Special Court.
Advocate U Nirmala Rani stressed, “We can’t simply assume that in elopement case, the Victims have given consent and the guy should be acquitted. We may not know whether informed consent was given.”
Vidya Reddy of the Tulir-Centre for Prevention & Healing of Child Abuse agreed elopement cases are clogging the system and hoped the Government Order is implemented in other Districts too.
Also Read: POSCO ACT RECENT UPDATES AND CASES
INCREASING RAPES ON MINORS AND PSYCHOLOGY OF RAPISTS
