Abysmal Pocso conviction rate in Karnataka denies justice to survivors

Hubballi: The conviction rate in Pocso cases in Karnataka is an abysmal 1.75%, shows data, with a cocktail of factors, ranging from inadequate police investigation to a lack of judicial infrastructure and human resources being cited as reasons for the poor state of affairs.

Data from the State Crime Records Bureau shows that of the 10,247 Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) cases reported between Jan 2022 and Nov 2024, only 179 cases saw convictions. As many as 2,179 cases saw acquittal/dismissal.

Another 6,945 are pending trials, some since 2022, though the Pocso Act states that cases should be resolved within a year of filing the complaint.

Experts said that in majority of the acquittals, survivors or their family members turned hostile during the trial due to external pressure, showing a lack of trust in the system.

Child rights activist Vasudeva Sharma blamed the lack of victim protection, poor police investigation while collecting evidence and a limited number of public prosecutors.

“Judges are not getting enough support from the system to deliver justice. As the process of the judicial system is getting delayed, not many survivors are pursuing the cases,” he said.

Currently, Karnataka has 17 Pocso courts and 14 fast track special courts that exclusively take up cases related to sexual assault cases against children. The apex court has mandated that for every 100 Pocso cases, there should be one special court.

Shashidhar Kosambe, member of Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said a higher conviction rate and punishment to the accused can help prevent crimes against children.

“It is unfortunate that Karnataka is failing to do so. It is a failure of not just the police and judiciary but society as a whole,” he said.

Dharwad High Court Pocso SPP Shaila Angadi said limited human resources is one of the reasons for the high number of pending cases.

“Dharwad Pocso court has more than 300 pending cases. However, we don’t have a fast-track special court. Instead, JMF courts have been taking up four to six Pocso cases per day,” said Shaila, who is the only government representative in all the Pocso cases in Dharwad.