New Delhi: A PIL was on Monday filed in the Delhi High Court challenging its administrative order abolishing a special court set up under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for hearing child sexual abuse cases.
The PIL filed by a lawyer has contended that the high court's May 16 order, by which the POCSO court in Saket district court complex here was abolished, was "illegal and unconstitutional".
The petition claimed that the high court's decision has gone against its own earlier order constituting the special court under the POCSO Act.
The plea by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal has also opposed distribution of cases of the special court among other Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) in Saket district court.
"Abolition of the court of ASJ-01, district south, Saket, and distribution of the said court's POCSO cases is nothing but illegal, improper, unconstitutional and against the rule of law and law of the land...," the petition has said.
"By abolishing the court of ASJ-01 (special court), the high court has not only violated its own order of March 16, but has also failed to implement the POCSO Act in letter and spirit," it has said.
It has also said that as the national capital has in recent times seen a spurt in offences against children, abolition of the special court would cause "great hardship" to child victims of sexual abuse.
Recently in a related matter, the high court was told that there are 200-600 cases of sexual offences against children pending in each of the designated courts in the six district courts in New Delhi set up under the POCSO Act and more public prosecutors are needed to handle them.
The city government too in an affidavit had told the court that there were 3,216 cases relating to sexual offences against children under POCSO Act pending before different sessions courts in the capital.
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