Average time taken to dispose of POCSO case is 509 days, says Smriti Irani

The average time taken to dispose of a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case is 509 days, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said and sought suggestions from judges on what could be done infrastructurally to expedite solutions for children.

The POCSO Act 2012 aims to protect children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography and provide for establishment of special courts for trial of such offences.

Addressing the inaugural session of the National Stakeholders Consultation on Protection of Children from Sexual Offences on Saturday, Irani said for every conviction, there are three acquittals and 56 per cent of all the POCSO cases correspond to offenses of penetrative sexual assault.

Aggravated penetrative assault accounts for 25.59 per cent of the cases. Which means that today we have a mechanism that still needs a robust intervention, she said.

The minister said the average time that is taken to disposal of a POCSO case is