Madurai: A PIL seeking direction to the Tamil Nadu government to implement the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 was filed on Monday at the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court.
Justices Jayachandran and S Nagamuthu ordered notice among others to the Home Secretary, state police chief and SP of Tuticorin district.
Petitioner E Athisiya Kumar, an advocate, also sought a direction from the court to the officials to conduct periodic training for government officials and police on the provisions of the Act.
He said that after a 13-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Tuticorin district recently, police registered a case only under Sec 302 (murder) of IPC and they were not aware of the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
Many offences were committed against children and school girls and these were being reported daily. But the officials were not invoking the provisions of the Act against the culprits, the petitioner said.
Though the Act provided for establishment of special courts and special public prosecutor to try cases and complete them in one year, its provisions were yet to be implemented in the state, he claimed.
Guidelines had not been formulated too, Kumar said.
The petitioner also sought rehabilitation and relief for the parents of the rape victim.
PTI
