SHILLONG, Nov 4: At a time when India is celebrating 75 years of its Independence with great fanfare, women and children continue to be denied basic freedom, Chief Justice of the High Court of Meghalaya Sanjib Banerjee said.
He was categorical that sexual offence against women and children is an offence against society. “Unless we come down on sexual offence with a heavy hand, there will be no freedom for women and children,” Justice Banerjee observed.
He was addressing a one-day state-level consultation on Effective Implementation of POCSO Act, 2012 – Reflection on progress, challenges, opportunities and way forward, held at the Yojana Bhavan here.
Speaking on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, Justice Banerjee said the carving of the Act was due to the inadequacies in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to effectively address and counter heinous crimes such as sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children. He observed that the increase in the reporting of sexual crimes against children since the enactment of the Act is encouraging.
While informing that 80% of the criminal appeals against children are related to POCSO, the Chief Justice said: “Time has come for us to wake up and recognise the rights of women and children and called upon citizens to ensure that women and children enjoy the same freedom that men enjoy in public spaces.”
In his opening remarks, Justice Thangkhiew said 10 years since the implementation of the POCSO Act, the time has come for all concerned stakeholders to discuss and review the issues related to the Act to identify good practices and address those areas that need re-evaluation.
Stating that the POCSO Act is the most effective tool to combat crimes against children, Justice Thangkhiew said the stakeholders and guardians of the law need to take a proactive role to ensure that a child’s rights are protected in letter and spirit.
The programme was organised by the Juvenile Justice Committee, High Court of Meghalaya in collaboration with the Directorates of Social Welfare and Health Services.
The inaugural function was attended by Justice HS Thangkhiew, Justice W Diengdoh, Principal Secretary of Health Sampath Kumar, Commissioner & Secretary to the Governor Pravin Bakshi, Commissioner & Secretary of Education BDR Tiwari, Director of Social Welfare DD Shira, Director of Health Services H Lyndem, District Judges, representatives from SJPC, DCPU, state-run training institutions and shelter homes, among others.
The consultation programme deliberated on the topics of rehabilitation and reintegration of POCSO survivors and preventive measures – practices, gaps and opportunities, child-friendly court procedures during prosecution for POCSO survivors, investigation of cases under POCSO and role of medical officers, special public prosecutors, probation officers and support persons and building capacity of functionaries under the POCSO Act and the role of state-run training institutions.
