Finish probes in rape, POCSO cases in 2 months: Govt to ask CMs, CJs
Patna: Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday said he would write to chief ministers and high court chief justices of all the states to complete investigation into cases of rape and those registered under the POCSO Act in two months.
Trial of such cases should also be completed within six months, the Union law and justice minister said.
"I am going to write letters to all the chief ministers urging them to complete the investigation within two months in rape and POCSO cases," Prasad told reporters.
Incidents of rape and crimes against women are unfortunate and highly condemnable, Prasad said.
"I will also write to the chief justices of all the high courts to dispose of expeditiously all cases relating to rape and POCSO pending in the Fast Track Courts," he said.
Prasad's comment came in the backdrop of nation-wide outrage over the alleged rape and murder cases at Hyderabad and Unnao.
Demonic attacks on women have shaken the conscience of the country, President Ram Nath Kovind said and advocated that those convicted under the POCSO Act should be deprived of their right to mercy petition.
It is for the Parliament to take a decision on the matter and make necessary constitutional amendments, "but the thought of all of us is moving ahead in that direction", he said while addressing an event in Rajasthan's Abu Road on the issue of women safety.
The president said women safety is a very serious issue and a lot of work has been done on this but much remains to be done.
"Incidents of demonic assaults on daughters shake the conscience of the country. It is the duty of every parent, citizens, yours and mine to strengthen among boys the sense of respect towards women.
"In this context, several things are coming up. Such convicts have been given the right of mercy petition by the Constitution. I have said that there should be reconsideration on this.... In cases under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, they be deprived of the right of mercy petition. They do not need any such right," he said.
The president's remarks came at a time the country witnessed several cases of brutal attacks on women.
A rape survivor from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh was set alight by five men, including two of the accused, on Thursday when she was on her way to court. The woman has been battling for life at a hospital in Delhi with 90 per cent burns.
A 25-year-old veterinarian was raped, killed and burnt in Hyderabad last month. The charred body of the woman, working as an assistant veterinarian at a state-run hospital, was found under a culvert in Shadnagar, near Hyderabad, in the morning of November 28, a day after she went missing.
Speaking on women empowerment, the president said education is important for empowerment of women.
"It is true that when you make a boy educated, it gives benefit to one family but when you make a girl educated, its benefit goes to two families. Another important fact is that the children of an educated woman do not remain uneducated," he said.
