In Hyderabad, a ‘child-friendly’ courtroom was jointly inaugurated by Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan of High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad and Director General of Telangana Police Anurag Sharma at the Nampally Criminal Courts Complex.

This is the first south India’s Children’s Court and Telangana has become the third state to have a child friendly court and sixth in the country with features like separate waiting rooms for children and a video camera trial for the accused, mandated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act-2012 after Goa and Delhi which is started for the fast disposal of cases related to children.

Earlier, POCSO stipulates child-friendly court rooms be put in place across all states in the interest of children in need of care. However, such courts are presently functioning only in two Delhi and Goa.

Metropolitan Sessions Judge T Rajani said that “This is for the first time in South India and the sixth court in the country to be child-friendly”. At present, there are over 1640 cases under POCSO Act that were pending at various stages in different district courts of Telangana till 2015 she added.

T Rajani also said  that “since the court will not handle any other cases other than those relating to children, the volume of casework will be much less, enabling quicker disposal of cases“.

The judge said that “The child (witness/victim) will be allowed direct interaction with the judge, while the accused (who will be at a different location) will be able to view and hear the proceedings via two-way video conferencing in the courtroom.”

In this court, a two-way video communication system is provided which allows the child witness to identify the accused on camera. This also enables the judge to ask questions to the child and the accused without any physical interface.

The DGP said that “The judge and the police personnel will be in plain clothes in the children’s court and unlike a normal court set-up, the child will not be allowed to come face to face with the alleged offenders to make sure he/she is not intimidated while the court proceedings are on. Thus, providing a non-threatening atmosphere.”

Mr. Anurag Sharma also said that “With increasing crimes against children, there is a dire need for systemic reforms in strengthening the evidence gathering process. The child-friendly space for recording the witness and testimony of the child will aid in improving the conviction rates for the crimes against children.”

The Nampally project was facilitated by NGO Justice and Care in collaboration with the state government and the judiciary.

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