Bihar's Araria POCSO court sets example by delivering rape case verdict within 24 hours

The Araria POCSO court in Bihar set a record by closing the fastest trial in the country. The POCSO court fast-tracked the proceedings by recording witnesses, arguments, and counter-arguments, convicting the accused, and issuing its judgement in just one day, the fastest verdict by any POCSO court in the country.

Though the proceedings of the court occurred on October 4, 2021, the matter was only discovered by the outsiders on November 26 when the order sheet became available.

The accused was convicted to life imprisonment and was fined Rs 50,000 by special judge (POCSO) Shashi Kant Rai. The court also directed the victim to get Rs 7 lakh in compensation from the Victim Compensation Fund. The case was related to the rape of an eight-year-old girl on July 22 this year and the FIR was lodged on July 23.

Not the first instance of instant justice in India

Bihar has made a national verdict by convicting the accused within 24 hours of the court hearing. Before this, a district court in MP's Datia had delivered verdict within three days of the trial, in 2018.

As per a press communique issued by the Directorate of Prosecution, Home Department of the Bihar government, "This is perhaps the first case in which punishment has been given in a single day of trial. Before it, in Datia (MP) district, a court had delivered a verdict after three days of trial on 8 August 2018. Bihar has now made a national record by conducting a trial in a single day by giving a life sentence to the convict till his last breath."

As per a report by the Indian Express, the Public prosecutor of the case Shyamlal Yadav said that the FIR in the case was filed on July 23, 2021, and the charges against the accused were framed under POCSO and other relevant sections by September 24. However, the matter was heard by the court in October and judgement was pronounced within a day. He also apprised that the case was supervised by the Araria women police station in charge Rita Kumari.

The feat is significant and holds importance as the country’s judicial system has been accused of dragging its feet, as several cases are piled up every year and the judgements are postponed.

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