Monitoring cells for women and child repression cases

Alaudable provision of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000 makes it mandatory for lower courts which are dealing with cases under the law to dispose with them within 180 days of framing charges. However, last year, the Supreme Court observed that this provision is almost never followed in reality. Now, the High Court has directed that the Supreme Court form a cell to monitor whether these trials under the act are being conducted on time. It also set out that the cell will report to the SC and the government for taking appropriate action against judges, public prosecutors and investigation officers who fail to show valid causes for not disposing the cases within the stipulated period.

The need for the monitoring cell speaks volumes of the lack of implementation of the law. The timeframe set out by the law would not only ensure that these cases do not get buried for whatever reason but also ensure that the accused do not have to be in jail for extended periods without being convicted. We hope that the monitoring cell would be adequately empowered to ensure accountability and act as a check to unwarranted delays. It is unfortunate that despite the existence of the law, there are cases which run on for years. This not only delays justice for that case, but creates a backlog for the courts. 

However, for the monitoring cell and the law to be effective, it must be followed up with other institutional reforms. We still hear of cases where the police are reluctant to accept cases and there are shortcomings in providing a safe environment where a victim can demand justice. We commend the HC decision and hope it will be followed by further steps from all concerned authorities to address the institutional and legal gaps as they exist.