Two new courts for exclusively handling cases registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), will start functioning in Kozhikode district. One of the them, with the status of a district court, will function on the first floor of a recently constructed building inside the Koyilandy court complex from July 1.
The second POCSO court will start functioning in the Kozhikode district court complex. The deployment of the required judges and other staff has been completed. Seven new posts, including the posts of Additional District Judge and special public prosecutor, have been created to ensure the speedy trial of cases.
Koyilandy municipal authorities said they were awaiting the opening of the POCSO court as it would ensure justice on time to the victims of sexual offences. In order to meet the basic requirements, both the Central and State governments had pooled in funds. As the first instalment, the Centre had sanctioned ₹6.3 crore to Kerala.
The special courts were sanctioned in view of the rising number of atrocities against children. According to official figures, investigations are on into over 3,000 cases apart from ongoing court proceedings in nearly 10,000 cases.
