Chennai: Madras high court has directed the Tamil Nadu govt to file a report on the number of Pocso and special courts for sexual harassment against women functioning in the state, the number of additional courts required, and infrastructure facilities available in these courts.The first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan passed the interim order on a plea moved by a 26-year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh, who was raped by two policemen during her visit to Tiruvannamalai temple.She wanted the court to order speedy trial of sexual assault cases pending before the special courts across the state. She alleged that despite chargesheet having been filed in her case in Nov 2025, the trial is yet to begin.On Monday, when the plea came up for hearing, advocate-general Vijay Narayan reiterated that the state govt treats crimes against women and children with utmost seriousness and that guidelines are being framed to ensure speedy disposal of such cases.“The special court has dismissed the petitions filed by the two police personnel accused in the case on June 4. Charges were framed on June 17, and examination of witnesses is scheduled to commence from June 24,” he said.Recording the submissions, the bench directed that the trial in the Andhra woman sexual assault case should continue on day-to-day basis and ordered the state govt and the high court registry to file reports on the number of POCSO special courts functioning in the state, the additional courts required, their performance, and the infrastructure facilities available in those courts. The court then adjourned the hearing after two weeks.
