Telangana did not figure among top States with improvements in dealing with POCSO cases

The Union Home Ministry has requested the Chief Ministers of all States including Telangana to personally drive the progress on effectively dealing with cases registered under the POCSO (Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences) Act.

The direction follows a report on the status of compliance with the mandatory two-month timeline for investigation of sexual offences, presented at the recent meeting of the Southern Zonal Council (SZC) at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu. The report noted that national compliance reached approximately 76% this year though performance in the southern States/UTs averaged 67%.

According to the discussions at the SZC meeting, significant improvements were recorded in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Telangana, which was earlier lauded for its efficiency in handling the POCSO cases in the earlier meeting at Tirvananthapuram, did not find a mention in the Mahabalipuram meeting.

In the earlier meeting held in 2022, the Inter-State Council Secretariat drew attention of the participants to the massive improvement in registering POCSO cases and conviction from 16% to 65% shown by Telangana. Senior Telangana Police officials who attended the meeting informed that a Task Force to monitor the POCSO cases was put in place and several initiatives were taken to ensure not only prevention & detection but also conviction of the cases. Back then, the Union Home Minister suggested that Telangana could circulate their efforts to all the States.

However, the situation had changed ever since with rise in the POCSO cases and the State presently ranks among the top States in the country in the number of POCSO cases, behind Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam, according to the latest data. Out of 31,117 cumulative POCSO cases registered in the State between January 1, 2016, and June 30, 2026, about 52.54% (16,348 cases) remain pending trial due to a lack of exclusive fast-track POCSO courts.

Data shared by the Women Safety Wing of the State police recently show a rise in the number of boys recorded as victims under the POCSO Act. Only four male child victims were recorded in 2024. The number rose to 61 in 2025 and 62 were recorded between January and September this year, already exceeding the number for the whole of last year.