Child-friendly court inaugurated

 Hyderabad: The Child Friendly Court (Special court for the trial of offences under POCSO Act) was inaugurated by Justice Madan Bhimarao Lokur, Judge, Supreme Court of India in the presence of Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, Chief Justice of High court of Judicature (Hyderabad) at HACA Bhavan. The fourth amongst the States after Goa, Delhi, Bengaluru this court will resolve cases related to crime against children in a friendly environment. 

The child friendly court was set up as per the guide lines provided in the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act), 2012. With state-of-art amenities, this has all the required facilities in order to make the child feel comfortable and at ease to speak to the Judge and advocates. 

Apart from the innovative and child friendly Court hall, the facility was designed according to the principles and guidelines laid down POCSO Act. One of the main objectives of coming up with this kind of court was for the speedy disposal of child sexual abuse cases.
 
Speaking on the occasion, Justice Madan B Lokur described the facility as top-class with state-of-art provisions, where the child can feel at ease to reveal the ordeal without any hesitation. However, he called upon those at the helm to closely monitor the operations so that the Court remains steadfast in its objectives. 

While applauding the superior quality of the facility, he asked the officials to keep pace with the evolving concepts so that it can regularly upgrade itself to face the challenges. 

Justice Ramesh Ranganathan said there was a plan to set up similar courts in each of the 30 other districts, amongst which Ranga Reddy district remains the top priority.  M Jagadeeshwar, Secretary, Department of Women Development and Child Welfare informed that the government decided to come up with District Child Protection Units which will help coordinate village child protection committees. 

DGP, M Mahendar Reddy applauded the support of judiciary in resolving the 4000 cases during the last two years. He affirmed that this court was second only to Delhi’s court in terms of facilities provided to ensure smoother functioning.  Swati Lakra, IGP (Law and Order) Incharge of Women Safety including SHE teams and Bharosa gave vote-of-thanks on the occasion.