Only one in four Pocso cases led to convictions in Tamil Nadu in 2019, which, activists and advocates say, was one of the reasons why crimes against children are persisting in the State. The poor conviction rate revealed by data from the National Crime Records Bureau comes amid shocking cases of sexual harassment and deaths by suicides reported in Tamil Nadu.

According to legal experts dealing with Pocso cases, conviction is a tough process though the Union government set up 1,023 fast-track courts to deal with these cases in May.

Advocate Lakshmi Kanth, who had appeared in the case where a differently abled girl was raped in Ayanavaram, said the main reasons affecting the conviction rate in Pocso cases were procedural lapses and change of mind by the complainants.

“As per Section 27 of Pocso Act, 2012, and 164A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), a medical expert should examine the person who was raped within 24 hours of the crime. However, in most cases, the tests are not taken within the stipulated time,” the advocate noted.

Another factor is the delay in interviewing the survivor, though the Act says the police should act immediately, he said. “When the examination and interview is delayed, the child might forget the details of the incident or may feel uneasy to narrate the harassment. This loophole benefits the accused to escape from the clutches of law,” Lakshmi Kanth added.

One factor that skews the statistics is parents of minor girls, or the girl herself, filing complaints under Pocso but eventually withdrawing them before the case proceeds. “There are cases where girls aged between 16 and 17 develop a relationship and their parents who are opposed to the affair file complaint against the boy. However, when the girl turns major, she would turn hostile. Even her parents would prefer to withdraw the case after making up their minds to agree to their marriage. Such cases would not lead to convictions,” he said.

Vanessa Peter, founder, Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC), blamed the poor sensitisation among various departments for the poor conviction rates.

“There was a case where a child was harassed by a neighbour. When we took her for the medical test, the health workers did not handle the child properly. They took her to gynecology, and referred to the child as ‘POCSO case’. How would a child who undergoes such an awkward situation give a statement,” she asked.

Yet another factor is the stigma that often makes the survivors’ kin change their stance. “The family would prefer a complaint against the accused, but would want to withdraw the case at the time of filing charge sheet or during the trial,” Vanessa noted. The families are also fearful when the accused comes out on bail. One way to tackle this is to ensure that a well-sensitized caseworker assists the survivor and family throughout the case proceedings.

“There should be a proper system to monitor the entire process considering the mental and social situations of the survivors’ family,” she said.

Expressing concern over the high acquittal rate, she said the government should explore the reasons for this. “If there is anything wrong, the government itself should go for an appeal,” Vanessa opined.

R Manivannan, a child welfare activist from Nagapattinam, said the delay by the police should be addressed by holding sensitisation programmes. “As per rules, every police station should have a child protection officer (CPO) in the rank of inspector or sub-inspector.

However, these CPOs are not effective in many stations due to workload. Therefore, a proper sensitization programme should be conducted for them on quickly collecting evidence to filing charge sheets before the court,” Manivannan told DT Next.