Indian judge wants special sex courts
2013-01-07 19:12
New Delhi - India's chief justice has ordered judges to
set up special courts to fast-track trials for sex crimes after the outcry over
a brutal gang-rape and murder, saying the current backlog may have fuelled a
rise in attacks.
In a letter to chief justices of the high courts in each
of India's states, Altamas Kabir said the horrific 16 December attack in New
Delhi had "shaken the conscience of the nation", adding that rape
"afflicts the very soul of a victim".
"A large number of cases are pending in various high
courts and trial courts in respect of offences against women and in recent
times there is a marked increase of such cases," Kabir wrote in a letter
dated 5 January, which was obtained by AFP on Monday.
"Delay may be one of the factors contributing to
rise in the number of cases, inasmuch as, on account of such delay, deterrence
pales into insignificance."
Kabir said "steps should be taken to immediately set
up fast-track courts to deal exclusively with cases of offences against
women", and asked the high courts to identify the number of judges needed
to run the courts.
The brutal attack on a 23-year-old medical student, who
subsequently died of her injuries in a Singapore hospital, has prompted pledges
from the government to speed up a notoriously sluggish justice system.
Five adults appeared in court for the first time on
Monday charged with murder and rape over the attack. It usually takes months
for legal proceedings to begin for such crimes.
