The Madras High Court has formed a special bench consisting of Justices N Anand Venkatesh and Sunder Mohan to supervise the implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act (JJ Act).
In a recent order issued on June 16, the division bench directed the High Court Registry to inform all lawyers’ associations at both the Principal seat in Chennai and the Madurai Bench. This step is aimed at seeking the assistance of the Bar due to the importance of the issues that will be addressed by the Court.
The bench further instructed the Director General of Police (DGP) of Tamil Nadu and the DGP of Pondicherry to provide all relevant data regarding cases under the two Acts that are pending at the investigation stage with the police. This includes cases pending before the Court or the JJ Board concerning victims and juveniles in conflict with the law.
The establishment of this special bench followed an order issued in April by then-acting Chief Justice T Raja. The decision was made following a recommendation made by retired Justice PN Prakash and Justice Venkatesh during the hearing of a habeas corpus petition filed by the father of a juvenile girl. The petition alleged that the girl had undergone the illegal “two-finger test” and was subsequently sent to a state-run shelter by the Child Welfare Committee after a video of her classmate tying a thali (mangalsutra) around her neck was shared on social media.
