The Kerala State Child Rights Commission has issued directions to the government to constitute monitoring committees at the district level to ensure justice for survivors of sexual offences under the POCSO Act.
A Division Bench of the commission, comprising chairman K.V. Manojkumar and member B. Babitha, also directed the Secretary, Women and Child Welfare department, to ensure that POCSO cases were handled in a child-friendly and transparent manner.
The proposed monitoring committee should be chaired by the District Collector and include a commission member as facilitator and the Child Welfare Committee chairperson as vice chairperson. The nodal officer of the district child protection unit should also be included in the monitoring committee along with the member secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, District Medical Officer and District Police Chief; the Deputy Directors of the Local Self Government, Excise and Education departments; Deputy Superintendents of Police, Special Juvenile Police Unit and State Crime Records Bureau; District Women and Child Development Officer; District SC/ST Development officers; and Public Prosecutor, POCSO Special Court.
The committee would meet once every three months.
Matters that could not be solved by the district-level committee would be referred to the Kerala State Child Rights Protection Commission.
