Srinagar, Oct 25: Jammu and Kashmir recorded a notable improvement in the disposal of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases in 2025, with courts concluding 23 of the 42 cases registered during the year—the highest disposal figure in five years—according to National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) data.
This marks a sharp rise from single-digit disposals in previous years (seven in 2021, ten in 2022, four in 2023 and six in 2024). The figures reflect enhanced judicial responsiveness through four Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs), including two exclusive POCSO courts, operating under a Centrally Sponsored Scheme that has been extended until March 2026. These courts have disposed of 338 cases since inception, though 494 cases remained pending as of September 30, 2025.
The 2025 judicial data sits against the most recent full annual baseline from the National Crime Records Bureau’s Crime in India 2024 report. That year, J&K registered 887 cases of crimes against children—a marginal decline from 910 in 2023 and 920 in 2022—with a crime rate of 18.1 per lakh child population, well below the national average of 42.3. Of these, 308 (approximately 34.7 per cent) were under the POCSO Act: 228 involving penetrative or aggravated penetrative sexual assault (Sections 4 and 6), 65 involving sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault (Sections 8 and 10), seven involving sexual harassment, five related to child pornography, and three involving abetment. Kidnapping and abduction remained the largest category at 243 cases. Other offences included nine minor rape cases, three assaults to outrage modesty, eight kidnappings for forced marriage, four foeticide cases and eight cases of infanticide.
Despite the 2025 disposal gains, structural challenges remain evident. In 2024, police charge-sheeted 444 cases (a charge-sheeting rate of 55.4 per cent), while 537 remained pending investigation out of 1,339 under process. More than 2,500 cases (around 2,517 in parliamentary data) were pending trial, with an overall conviction rate of 9.4 per cent. FTSC conviction rates have stayed low (around 4.5 per cent in 2024). The average POCSO trial duration in J&K has been reported at roughly 912 days.
A study noted more than 310 child sexual abuse cases between April 2024 and April 2025, concentrated in Jammu and Srinagar districts, while highlighting socio-cultural barriers, limited infrastructure and judicial delays that left only about 38.5 per cent of reported cases resolved by mid-2025.
Into 2026, high-profile cases continue to underscore enforcement realities. In October, the Crime Branch filed a more than 1,000-page chargesheet against 15 accused—including a school headmaster, doctors and hospital staff—in the Kishtwar minor sexual exploitation and death case, invoking POCSO and other provisions after the girl died following an alleged botched abortion attempt.
Simultaneously, the juvenile justice system faces fresh strain. Juvenile Justice Boards have become partially defunct and Child Welfare Committees fully dysfunctional after members’ terms expired (following an extension that ended in mid-October 2026), restricting boards from passing final orders and stalling rehabilitation and adoption processes.
Cases involving children in conflict with the law had declined to 275 in 2024 (from 361 in 2022 and 358 in 2023), with a juvenile crime rate of 5.6—contrary to the national rise of over 11 per cent—but institutional gaps now risk delaying outcomes for such cases.
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