TN govt sanctions 26 new POCSO special courts to speed up justice

Chennai, The Tamil Nadu government has issued orders to set up 26 new POCSO special courts and four NDPS special courts following directions from Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, aiming to expedite justice and curb crimes against women, children, and drug abuse.

The State has been continuously undertaking various initiatives to prevent crimes against women and children, take prompt legal action against offenders, and ensure timely justice for victims, an official release here on Sunday said.

During a recent review meeting regarding the status of pending POCSO cases across the state, Vijay in detailed inquired about case statistics, current status, and the requirement for additional dedicated courts. Following the review, the chief minister directed officials to take immediate steps to establish dedicated POCSO courts in all districts and expedite trial proceedings to ensure legal punishment for the perpetrators, it said.

Currently, 22 special courts are functional in the state exclusively for POCSO cases, and four more are nearing operationalisation.

Considering the volume of pending cases, government orders have been issued to establish 26 new special courts-comprising 12 new special courts and 14 additional special courts-at a total outlay of ₹46.59 crore.

With this addition, a total of 52 special courts across 47 police districts in Tamil Nadu will exclusively handle cases registered under the POCSO Act, 2012 and this will ensure speedy trial, swift justice for victims, and maximum punishment for offenders to deter such heinous crimes in the future.

Furthermore, as part of the government's "Drug-Free Tamil Nadu" campaign aimed at curbing drug trafficking and abuse, the state has been taking multiple measures to expedite trials under the NDPS Act following due legal procedures.

Stating that at present, 11 special courts are functional in Tamil Nadu, the release said considering the urgent need to fast-track all pending cases under this Act, the Tamil Nadu government has issued sanction for new special courts-one each in Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur, and Vellore, along with an additional special court in Chennai.

This measure paves the way for the speedy disposal of pending NDPS cases, strengthens judicial procedures, and advances the government's objective of building a drug-free state, it added.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.