Supreme Court relieves CBI of task of tracing absconding convict in POCSO case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed a plea by the CBI against the Manipur High Court's direction to the central agency to locate and produce a rape convict on the run.

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh found the order by the High Court was unnecessary and relieved the agency of the task.

"We find that the request made by the CBI is genuine, particularly when the state has constituted a special team in order to trace the convict," the bench said.

The court set aside the direction by the High Court to the CBI, saying it was unnecessary, holding that the state will make all endeavours to trace the convict.

The High Court issued suo moto order in October 2023 directing the CBI to speedily track and produce Timothi Changsang, a Northeast child-home administrator convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, for raping minor girls within three months before the High Court.

The convict has been absconding since 2018 and is yet to be found.

The CBI approached the apex court, which had in July 2024 stayed the directions.

The agency contended it was not even impleaded but nonetheless a direction was issued to it.