Tamil NaduTuesday, 7 July 2026·The Hindu - National
Tamil Nadu POCSO pendency: 18,733 cases pending in 38 districts; Supreme Court special-court norm and support-person gaps
As of June 2026, Tamil Nadu had 18,733 pending POCSO cases, with Madurai, Tiruppur, Chennai and Tenkasi among the worst-affected courts.
Key highlights
Direct fact
In June 2026, Tamil Nadu reported 18,733 pending POCSO cases across 38 districts, while the Supreme Court’s 2019 direction required an exclusive special court in every judicial district with more than 100 such cases.
Key specifics
- Madurai’s POCSO Court had 1,000 unresolved cases, the highest among the courts cited in the report.
- Tiruppur’s Fast Track Mahila Court had 790 pending cases, followed by Chennai’s POCSO Court with 747 cases.
- Tenkasi Principal District Court had 702 pending cases, showing that pendency is spread across multiple districts.
- In 37 of Tamil Nadu’s 38 districts, POCSO pendency was above 100 cases, but only 20 POCSO courts were functioning.
- The Madras High Court Registrar proposed 8 exclusive POCSO special courts in 2023, including Erode, Krishnagiri, Namakkal and Tiruppur.
Exam lens
Polity and governance question type: POCSO Act implementation, court infrastructure, child protection. TNPSC may ask about the 2019 Supreme Court direction, 38 districts, 18,733 pending cases, and the proposed 8 special courts.