Government to establish 17 more POCSO courts across Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Minister for Energy and Law CTR Nirmal Kumar confirmed in the Assembly on Friday that the state administration will establish three new special courts for the exclusive trial of Pocso cases, along with 14 extra special courts in districts with high.

Key points

• Three Special Courts will be established in Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, and Vellore, and another in Chennai, for the exclusive trial of NDPS Act cases at Rs 6.73 crore.
• The three new Pocso courts in Ariyalur, Perambalur, and Pudukkottai will cost Rs 5.41 crore.
• While subordinate courts will come up at Sholinghur, Natham, and Gummidipoondi, an Extra District Court will be established at Perundurai.
• The administration will constitute a State Advisory Board on crimes against women and children and psychotropic drug abuse.
• It observed that 20 districts lacked sanctioned special courts exclusively for Pocso cases.

In practice, the move assumes significance as TN police, in a recent submission before the High Court, remarked that 18, 518 Pocso cases were pending trial, with 10, 202 pending for over a year. It observed that 20 districts lacked sanctioned special courts exclusively for Pocso cases.

In practice, the 14 extra courts will come up in Chengalpattu, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode, Kallakurichi, Kanniyakumari, Krishnagiri, Salem, Tiruvallur, and Tirunelveli, besides two in Madurai, at a total cost of Rs 25.3 crore. The three new Pocso courts in Ariyalur, Perambalur, and Pudukkottai will cost Rs 5.41 crore.

Three Special Courts will be established in Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, and Vellore, and another in Chennai, for the exclusive trial of NDPS Act cases at Rs 6.73 crore. An SC/ST (PoA) Act Special Court will come up in Erode at Rs 1.93 crore.

While subordinate courts will come up at Sholinghur, Natham, and Gummidipoondi, an Extra District Court will be established at Perundurai. While combined court complexes will be build at Nilakottai and Pappireddipatti, a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal will be set up at Gingee. Elevators will be installed in 23 existing court buildings at Rs 16.28 crore.

Meanwhile, the administration will constitute a State Advisory Board on crimes against women and children and psychotropic drug abuse. An AI-powered Legal Repository Portal will provide public access to state laws, bills, ordinances, and gazettes. LLM courses will be introduced at four administration law colleges from 2026-27. "A new Government Law College will also come up in Madurai, " Nirmal Kumar remarked.

In short, government to establish 17 more POCSO courts across Tamil Nadu is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.