In Brief

This Supreme Court order addressed systemic issues in the handling of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) cases across India. The Court directed all States to establish exclusive POCSO Courts funded by the Central Government, with one exclusive court per district where POCSO cases exceed 300. Special Public Prosecutors must be exclusively appointed for these courts. The Court permitted flexible case-load calculations on a court-wise basis and allowed non-exclusive courts where caseloads are under 100. The Court also initiated formulation of a national victim compensation scheme, granted filing extensions to States, and retained jurisdiction over interconnected cases, including monitoring medical care for affected individuals.

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