Special courts’ ambit widened to include ex-MPs, MLAs in POCSO cases

Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has approved the Delhi Government’s proposal to expand the ambit of special courts to include former MLAs and MPs, allowing them to hear cases against such individuals under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

Previously, these special courts were authorised to try cases only against sitting legislators under the two Acts. The establishment of the courts had been approved by the L-G in July 2023, following Delhi High Court directions issued in 2020 to expedite trials involving MPs and MLAs accused under child rights and sexual offence laws.

However, the notification of these courts was delayed for over three years by the then Aam Aadmi Party government.

The current proposal to extend their ambit to include former MPs and MLAs was initiated by the Department of Women and Child Development (WCD) and vetted by the Law Department before being forwarded to the L-G for approval.

These three special courts will function in addition to eight other courts already notified in Delhi to handle offences related to child rights violations and crimes under the POCSO Act.

Under Section 28(1) of the POCSO Act, state governments, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court, are required to designate Special Courts for speedy trials of such offences. Similarly, Section 25 of the CPCR Act empowers the government to specify Courts of Session as Children’s Courts for trying offences related to violations of child rights.

Officials said the expansion of these courts’ jurisdiction to include former legislators will further strengthen the judicial framework for prompt disposal of sensitive cases involving public representatives.

The three designated special courts handling cases against MPs and MLAs under the CPCR and POCSO Acts — now also covering ex-legislators — are the Court of Special Judge (PC Act) (CBI)-09, the Court of Special Judge (PC Act) (CBI)-23, and the Court of Special Judge (PC Act) (CBI)-24, all located at the Rouse Avenue Court Complex in Delhi.

Meanwhile, according to the NCRB Report 2023, Delhi topped the list of cities with the highest number of juveniles apprehended, standing far ahead of other metros. In 2023, the capital reported a total of 1,50,574 arrests, the highest in the country. Mumbai ranked second with 84,856 arrests, followed by Chennai with 75,013.

Of those arrested in Delhi, 1,45,958 were men, 4,611 were women and five identified as transgender persons. The NCRB data further revealed that 1,22,464 arrests were made under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), while 28,110 arrests fell under Special and Local Laws (SLL) — including the POCSO Act, NDPS Act, and Arms Act, which address specific categories of offences.