‘Violation of law’: State child panel seeks rollback of order on filing FIRs under POCSO Act

The Chairperson of the Commission, Susieben Shah has written to Pandey terming the order as a “travesty of justice..” and has sought its withdrawal in two days.

“We take serious offence to your comments about ‘False Cases’ as your statements are not backed by any legal proof. Your concern for the alleged accuser’s reputation being tarnished is also uncalled for. It is a practice until now, that a police officer would immediately register an FIR on receipt of complaint as mandated by the law.

Your order will cause unnecessary delays and distress to the survivors and their families,” states the 3-page long letter by Shah to Pandey, dated June 10.

The letter also points out how the said order completely undermines the efforts of the commission, women and child department of Maharashtra government and many NGOs working to help survivors of abuse seek justice.

“It can cause serious infringement of the rights of survivors and undue delay to their access to justice,” the letter states, adding that the delay in nod by the senior officer can have an impact on the investigation, risking the possibility of tampering of evidence and threat to the complainant, among others.

“Due to the busy schedule of the senior officers, this insistence on their nod will have an adverse impact not only on the survivor, who has mustered the courage to report the abuse, but also the investigation. The delay in medical medical treatment can lead to loss of evidence,” Shah said.