Aastha Thakur
Published on: 30th July 2022 at 19:12 IST
The Rajasthan High Court recently issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) heard by the Bench comprising of Chief Justice SS Shinde and Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand, the said PIL was filed to direct the state government to constitute a committee to check the condition of Special Courts constituted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) in the State.
The petitioner, one Kunal Rawat submits in his PIL, the importance of sexual health education for students and prays it should be compulsorily imparted in schools and aganwadis across the state in order to curb the problem of the sexual offences against minors.
The petitioner also seeks direction to be issued for expeditious disposal of POCSO cases in Rajasthan while directing to conclude recording of evidence i.e. examination-in-chief and cross-examination of the victim ensuring the victims gets justice for the wrong done to them.
Further, the application also wants to give directions in order to ensure child friendly practices adopted by the Court to ensure that the child feels safe and comfortable, and the victim child is not exposed in any manner to the accused. In addition to this, the PIL prays for direction to ensure the presence of parents or any other person in whom the child has trust or confidence, at the time of examination of the child.
A direction to ensure that the disposition of the child/victim is recorded expeditiously, has been sought in the plea. The plea also seeks direction to ensure that the victim/child is not called frequently to the court, as this would add to victim/child’s trauma.
The Court in reply has issued notice to the State Government asking for its take on this PIL.