The State Women’s Commission is looking into the infrastructure and other issues at the special court in Kochi that deals with cases of atrocities and sexual violence against women and children. The Commission will study the issues and discuss them at their next meeting before presenting a report to the State government.
Women’s Commission member Lissy Jose said some of the issues at the court had come to the commission’s notice. “I was told that the courtroom does not offer enough privacy for women and children to give their statements in-camera. Witnesses should be able to speak in court without fear of having to run into their abusers,” Ms. Jose said. She said the commission would look into the issues in greater detail in the coming days and present its recommendations to the government.
The special court in Kochi was the first such court in the State and was set up to ensure that special care was given to cases of atrocities against women and children. The court was hailed as a positive step towards speedy completion of cases of rape at the time it was opened in January 2013. Since then, the court has quickly resolved several cases of violence against women and children. Many cases of sexual violence against minors that had been pending in other courts in the district were moved to the new court that had been set up exclusively to deal with such cases.
The special court, however, has been plagued with infrastructural problems since its inception. Proceedings in the court had to be stopped for almost three months last year after it was discovered that the Law Department had failed to notify the court before it was started. The court could only consider bail pleas during the time that it took for the government to issue a notification.
The court also does not have enough computers or printers to handle the work coming up. Ms. Jose said the lack of computers had also come to the Commission’s notice and that remedial measures would be adopted soon. The court staff are currently carrying out their work using equipment borrowed from other courts and even brought from home by some of the staff. Court officials hope that the Commission’s recommendations would improve the facilities at the complex.
