Over 400 rape cases pending in courts

SHILLONG: Over 400 rape cases involving minors are pending for disposal in various courts in the State under Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.
According to the official data available till April this year, in the POCSO court in East Khasi Hills alone, as many as 160 cases are pending for disposal. These were the cases taken up in 2013-14 and 2015-16.
In West Khasi Hills, out of 56 cases, 50 are pending as six cases were disposed of after conviction.
The chairperson of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), while citing varied reasons for the delay in trial and disposal, said that the Commission is making all efforts so that justice is delivered to the minor victims.
In West Jaintia Hills, the number of cases pending disposal from 2013 till February this year is 59 and while the number is 74 for Ri Bhoi.
In the same period, the number of cases pending for trial is 7 in East Garo Hills and 47 in West Garo Hills.
While the total number of cases pending in the state would be 397 till April this year, the number would be more since many cases were reported after April.
An official with the Law Department admitted that there is a need to speed up the disposal of the cases.
The state government is keen to set up special courts to exclusively deal with crime against minors, the official added.
Currently, the sessions courts in six districts of Meghalaya act as special courts to deal with POCSO cases. However, since the sessions courts are overburdened, this results in the delay in disposal of cases under POCSO.