First children’s court set up in South India’s Telangana state, Smt. Maneka Gandhi launched POSCO e-box
Q. South India’s first children’s court was inaugurated in Hyderabad. Which two other states in India have got child friendly courts?- Published on 29 Aug 16a. Delhi, Mumbai
b. Delhi, Chennai
c. Delhi, Kolkata
d. Delhi, Goa
ANSWER: Delhi, Goa
First children’s court was inaugurated in Hyderabad for South India on 25th August 2016.
- Two other states, Goa and Delhi have got their child friendly court.
- Court was jointly inaugurated by acting HC CJ Ramesh Ranganathan and TS directory general of police Anurag Sharma.
- It features separate waiting rooms for children and a video camera trial for the accused
- Child who is the witness/victim will be allowed direct interaction with the judge
- Accused will be in a different location and hear the proceedings via two way video conferencing in the courtroom
- A two way video communication system will allow the child to identify the accused on camera
- The judge will not sit on the dais, so that he can be more approachable
- Police accompanying the child will not be in uniform
- WCD Minister Smt. Maneka Gandhi on 26th August launched the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences/POCSO e-box
- The POCSO e-box is a platform where child victims of sexual abuse can report such cases online
- It is an initiative of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights for direct online reporting of child sexual abuse
- The e-box is an online complaint management system which facilitates direct reporting of sexual offences against children and timely action against offenders under toe POCSO act
- It is incorporated on the home page of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) website http://ncpcr.gov.in/.
To register a complaint, the complainant will have to push a button named POCSO e-box that will navigate him or her to a page where at least one picture option will have to be selected (describing the category of harassment)- Later, a form will have to be filled along with details such as mobile number, email and description of the harassment followed by the submit button after which a unique auto generated complaint number will be flashed
- e-Box is incorporated in the home page of the NCPCR which is a national level body for the protection of child rights
- Sexual offences against children are rampant, yet a small percentage is reported
- Government enacted the POCSO Act 2012 to protect children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography.
- The Act also safeguards the interest of children at every stage of the judicial process by incorporating child friendly mechanisms for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and speedy trial of offences through designated Special Courts
- Any human being up to 18 years of age is recognised as a child under the Act.
