Appoint lady counsel to represent victims of sexual violence : Allahabad High Court to HC Legal Services Committee
In this POCSO case, the victim was a speech-impaired person, and the High Court Legal Service Committee had appointed a male counsel to appear on her behalf.
The Allahabad High Court recently observed that despite the fact that the High Court Legal Services Committee empanelled a number of counsels, in very few cases, lady counsels had appeared for the victims of sexual violence.
The observation was made when the court was dealing with a bail plea in a case registered for the offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act).
Though court appreciated the efforts of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of the concerned district in providing help to the victim who is a speech-impaired person, it noted that on CWC's recommendation, the High Court Legal Services Committee had appointed a male counsel to appear on behalf of the victim.
Therefore, the bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot requested the High Court Legal Services Authority to appoint lady counsels to represent the victims of sexual violence, especially when the victims are minor girls.
Regarding the bail plea, Court denied bail to the POCSO accused who had been booked under Section 376 IPC and Section 3/4 of the POCSO Act and Section 3(1)(b) and Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST Act, 1989.
Apart from that, Court directed the Trial Court to conclude the trial within a period of one year and to proceed with the hearing on a day-to-day basis to ensure that the above-stipulated timeline of one year is strictly adhered to.
Court further ordered the trial judge to submit a fortnightly report on the progress of the trial and the steps taken to ensure that the trial is concluded.
Case Title: Ashish Yadav v. State Of U.P And Another