Principal District & Sessions Judge, Srinagar, Abdul Rashid Malik who has been designated as Special Court for District Srinagar for trial of the Protection of the Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) cases, has awarded interim compensation of Rs. 3 lakh each as interim compensation in three cases, here today, in favor of the victims of rape and sexual assault in FIR No. 115/2019 P/S Nigeen Srinagar, FIR No. 49/2019 P/S Soura, Srinagar, and FIR No. 06/2019 P/S Shergari, Srinagar, with direction to the Member Secretary, J&K State Legal Services Authority to release the interim compensation forthwith in favor of the victims.
The 11 cases filed under the POCSO Act are beingfast tracked.
Pertinently, the VulnerableWitness Deposition Complex, Srinagar which was inaugurated by the Chief Justice of J&K High Court onMarch 16, 2019, has become fully functional.
Chief Justice hasformulated a protocol for recording evidence of vulnerable witness in Jammu andKashmir in terms of Notification No. 42 dated 29th of May 2019.
As per the Protocol, the Vulnerable witness means any child witness who has not completed 18 years of age or any victim of sexual violence or any material witness in dangerouscrime and such other witness, as may be deemed Vulnerable by the Trial Courts.
The proceedings in POCSOcases are held in Camera. The Victim of Sexual assault is being providedassistance of a Support Person who is usually a lady lawyer. The victim doesnot come in interface with the accused or the Counsel for the accused. Duringthe trial of the cases under POCSO Act,all precautions are being taken to ensure a child friendly atmosphere in theCourt. The questions are asked to the victim in a form which are appropriate tothe developmental level of vulnerable witness and questions are allowed insimple language.
There is protection ofprivacy and safety as the record regarding the vulnerable witness is keptconfidential and under-seal. The depositions of the vulnerable witnesses arerecorded by a video link.
Thereare protective measures in the Court Room like avoiding of direct or indirect contact between vulnerable witness and accused oropposite party at any point of justice process. Trial is being conducted onfast-track basis to ensure that the trials in the cases of rape and sexual abuse are concluded within the stipulated time as envisaged under the Protection of Children from Sexual OffencesAct, 2012.