When it resurfaced in March 2021 underneath a brand new bench, the compensation concern, which was as soon as central to the court docket’s intervention, by no means got here up once more. (HT Photo)
The petition, registered as “In Re: Alarming Rise within the Number of Reported Child Rape Incidents”, was formally closed on May 15 by a bench led by Justice Bela M Trivedi, as one among her final orders earlier than retiring. Justice Trivedi retired on June 9 however her final working day was May 16, owing to an abroad journey
But on May 23, one other bench led by Justice BV Nagarathna admitted a brand new writ petition that introduced again to centre stage a long-forgotten concern in the identical case — the framing and implementation of a devoted compensation, rehabilitation, welfare and schooling scheme for Pocso (safety of youngsters from sexual offences) victims.
The near-immediate revival of the compensation concern, which was left unattended regardless of express instructions by the highest court docket 5 years in the past, lays naked a systemic lapse — a PIL that lasted six years was wrapped up with out taking one among its most significant elements to its logical conclusion.
The 2019 suo motu proceedings have been triggered by intense public concern and media reporting on rising incidents of sexual violence towards kids. On July 12, 2019, the Supreme Court took cognisance and registered the case to formulate pressing judicial instructions. By July 25, the court docket had appointed senior advocate V Giri as amicus curiae and directed the creation of unique Pocso courts throughout India to handle delays in trials. Giri was assisted by advocate Uttar Babbar (now designated as a senior counsel).
On December 16, 2019, noting an “extraordinarily excessive” pendency of Pocso instances in some states, the court docket issued state-specific instructions. The bench, then headed by Justice Deepak Gupta, additionally expressed its intention to formulate a nationwide compensation scheme for Pocso victims — a process deemed obligatory for his or her psychological and monetary restoration.
In March 2020, the court docket went a step additional and summoned a joint secretary from the Ministry of Women and Child Development to help in designing the scheme. “On the subsequent date of listening to, we will take into account the problem of framing a nationwide scheme for fee of compensation to victims of offences underneath the Pocso Act,” the order learn.
But that subsequent date took greater than a 12 months to reach.
Following Justice Gupta’s retirement in May 2020, the matter fell into procedural limbo. When it resurfaced in March 2021 underneath a brand new bench, the compensation concern, which was as soon as central to the court docket’s intervention, by no means got here up once more. Over 15 hearings befell between March 2021 and May 2025, however not one order addressed the proposed scheme.
Instead, the main focus narrowed to timelines for investigation and trial underneath the Pocso Act. By the time Justice Trivedi’s bench lastly determined to shut the matter on May 15, 2025, the compensation concern had successfully vanished from judicial radar.
“Since the timelines have been stipulated underneath the Pocso Act… the identical have to be adhered to so far as potential,” the May 15 order recorded, urging Union and state governments to create extra unique Pocso courts and sensitise investigating officers. “Subject to the above, the suo moto proceedings are hereby closed.”
On May 23, simply eight days after the disposal, the Supreme Court admitted a recent writ petition filed by Just Rights for Children Alliance, that pointedly famous the unfinished enterprise of the 2019 case.
Senior counsel Pragyan Pradip Sharma, showing for the petitioners, submitted that whereas the Registry of the Supreme Court had certainly drafted a “Scheme for Compensation, Rehabilitation, Welfare and Education of POCSO Victims, 2019” pursuant to earlier orders, the scheme was neither mentioned nor adopted by the Union authorities or the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
The new petition now seeks a writ of mandamus directing the Union authorities and NALSA to formally notify and implement a compensation framework tailor-made to the wants of kid victims of sexual abuse. It additionally seeks rapid disbursement of compensation to particular person victims already recognized, in addition to uniform implementation of the prevailing NALSA 2018 scheme within the interim.
Justice Nagarathna’s bench has issued discover to the Union of India, NALSA and the Ministry of Women and Child Development, with the case now slated for additional listening to on August 18, 2025.
The swift succession of the 2 orders, one closing the e-book and the opposite reopening a forgotten chapter, highlights the ironies and inefficiencies that may typically plague long-drawn PILs within the Supreme Court.
Simultaneously, the revival of the problem by a brand new bench not solely re-emphasises its significance but additionally underscores the necessity for institutional continuity in PIL monitoring, particularly in instances pushed by the court docket’s personal conscience (suo motu).
