Kerala High Court quashes the order letting POCSO prosecutors take other cases and sets a six-week deadline for exclusive appointments
14 October 2026
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. decided the matter on 14 October 2026.
The Bench quashed a State government order that had allowed Special Public Prosecutors appointed for POCSO cases to also conduct cases under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
The State has been directed to appoint Special Public Prosecutors exclusively for POCSO cases within six weeks.
The State must also decide, within four weeks of receiving the judgment, on setting up the remaining 13 permanent exclusive POCSO Special Courts, one in each district other than Ernakulam.
The case was a public interest litigation by the District Court Bar Association, Thodupuzha-Muttom, numbered WP(PIL) 75/2026 and reported as 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 583.
The Court held that the government order conflicted with the Supreme Court's 2020 directions in In Re Alarming Rise in the Number of Reported Child Rape Incidents.
In plain words
POCSO Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 — The central law that defines sexual offences against children and provides for Special Courts to try them.
SPP Special Public Prosecutor — A prosecutor appointed by the State for a specified category of cases or for a particular case.