Bhubaneswar: In a bid to strengthen the judicial process for child sexual abuse cases, the Odisha government has decided to set up 15 new POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) courts across the state. Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan informed the state assembly about the move on Saturday.
Responding to a question by Baliguda (ST) MLA Chakramani Kanhar, the Minister said that the government is taking steps to establish separate courts exclusively for POCSO cases. He also noted that the High Court is taking necessary steps to fill vacant judicial positions at the earliest.
The new courts will be located in Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Berhampur, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Bhubaneswar, Baripada, Phulbani, Puri, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Deogarh, Malkangiri, and Subarnapur.
POCSO courts are special courts constituted under the POCSO Act, 2012, aimed at ensuring speedy trials in cases involving sexual abuse of children.
