Focus on victim-child's rehabilitation under POCSO Act as important as securing punishment for accused: Justice S Ravindra Bhat

Supreme Court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat on Saturday lamented the fact that the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) was currently being understood in a rather unidimensional manner..Justice Bhat, who is also the Chairperson of the top court's Committee on Juvenile Justice, was speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day national consultation on the POCSO Act. He said that, under the Act, the focus now is more on effective prosecution and conviction of the perpetrator. "Unfortunately, the POCSO Act is understood rather unidimensionally. The abhorrent nature of the crime, where the young children are victims, securing punishment corners much of our attention. For the very same reason, the focus on restorative justice in the form of the child's rehabilitation and healing is equally important. Balancing these while focusing on a child-centric and rights-based approach, which are the pillars of our juvenile justice system, necessitate a review of how different stakeholders [are] adapting to the special rigours and facilitating the wide protections that this legislation affords children." .Justice Bhat also underscored how the Act ensures justice in the true sense to children, and requires keeping the interests of a child at heart.An effective implementation of the Act also requires multi-level consultation with stakeholders and nuanced engagement with both the positive and negative experiences of the survivors, he added. He said that while information from certain states reflects the significant strides they have taken for child-friendly measures and infrastructure of POSCO courts, a lot more needs to be done for holistic child support and smoother payment of final compensation. .Justice Bhat poignantly described the plight of a POSCO case survivor as that of: "betrayed trust and innocence lost, of mind in strife and stolen life".The top court judge expressed hope that the consultation would yield substantial solutions to the challenges and concerns that confront society towards effectuating swift justice to survivors of POSCO offences.He stressed that this was needed to restore their confidence in themselves, as well as to help pull them out from the 'dark abyss of victimhood'..The Supreme Court Committee on Juvenile Justice (SCCJC), in association with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), is organising a two-day national consultation on the POCSO Act starting today.The seventh such event of its kind, the consultation this time round will mark ten years since the POCSO Act was enacted.Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Union Women & Child Minister Smriti Irani, and UNICEF-India representative Cynthia McCaffery also spoke on the occasion. The consultation will also feature the participation of government and law enforcement officials, the National Council for the Protection of Child Rights and civil-society members.The inaugural session will be followed by technical sessions covering various facets of the POCSO Act. The topics of the sessions range from prevention, rehabilitation and reintegration of survivors to child-friendly courts, investigation procedures, capacity-building and sharing of good practices.