Skip to main content

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act - POCSO Act

The POCSO Act was enacted in 2012 and is gender neutral — it recognises that boys can be victims of sexual violence as well. It defines a child as someone under the age of 18. The Indian Penal Code does not recognise that sexual assault can be committed on boys.  

When is POCSO Used?

Sections of the POCSO Act may be added by the police in the First Information Report (FIR) whenever a sexual offence is committed against a child. While special laws override the IPC, sections of both are often mentioned in the FIR. For instance, an FIR would book an accused under section 376 (rape) of the IPC as well as relevant sections of the POCSO Act.

Punishments Under POCSO Act


Whoever commits aggravated penetrative sexual assault shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of natural life of that person and shall also be liable to fine, or with death.

The fine imposed under sub-section shall be just and reasonable and paid to the victim to meet the medical expenses and rehabilitation of such victim.

Aggravated Penetrative Sexual Assault

  • Whoever being on the management or on the staff of a jail, remand home, protection home, observation home, or other place of custody or care and protection established by or under any law for the time being in force, commits penetrative sexual assault on a child, being inmate of such jail, remand home, protection home, observation home, or other place of custody or care and protection
  • Whoever being on the management or staff of a hospital, whether Government or private, commits penetrative sexual assault on a child in that hospital; or
  • Whoever being on the management or staff of an educational institution or religious institution, commits penetrative sexual assault on a child in that institution; or
  • Whoever commits gang penetrative sexual assault on a child.                                      Explanation.-- When a child is subjected to sexual assault by one or more persons of a group   in furtherance of their common intention, each of such persons shall be deemed to have committed gang penetrative sexual assault within the meaning of this clause and each of such person shall be liable for that act in the same manner as if it were done by him alone.
  • whoever being, in the ownership, or management, or staff, of any institution providing services to the child, commits penetrative sexual assault on the child.
  • Whoever being in a position of trust or authority of a child commits penetrative sexual assault on the child in an institution or home of the child or anywhere else.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

The Scheduled Castes and Tribes Act   1989 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to prohibit discrimination, prevent atrocities and hate crimes against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The Act is popularly known as the SC Act And ST Act, POA, the Prevention of Atrocities Act, or simply the Atrocities Act. It was enacted when the provisions of the existing laws (such as the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 and Indian Penal Code) were found to be inadequate to check these crimes (defined as 'atrocities' in the Act). Recognising the continuing gross indignities and offences against Scheduled Castes and Tribes, the Indian Parliament passed the 'Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989. Key features of SC-ST ACT 1989 The key features of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, are: Actions to be treated as offences - The Act outlines actions (by non SCs and STs) against SCs or
Post a Comment
Read more

POCSO Act 2012 - Know about This POCSO Act and Its Salient Features

In order to effectively address the heinous crimes of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children through less ambiguous and more stringent legal provisions, the Ministry of Women and Child Development championed the introduction of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 . The Act has been enacted to protect children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography and provide for establishment of Special Courts for trial of such offences and related matters and incidents. The Act was amended in 2019, to make provisions for enhancement of punishments for various offences so as to deter the perpetrators and ensure safety, security and dignified childhood for a child. Salient Features of Pocso act and Its Amendment The Act is gender-neutral and regards the best interests and welfare of the child as a matter of paramount importance at every stage to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child. T
Post a Comment
Read more

The Top 5 Consumer Court Cases in India

People buy goods and services an inevitable process of their daily lives. We all need food clothing and shelter, which forms the basic necessities of our lives. And with the growing dependency on technology, it has also formed in some shape or form, a basic necessity. The world revolves around technology and the internet. While purchasing goods or services, you can come upon various problems from the one who delivers your goods or the service provider or an online vendor or anyone else. Here Are The Top 5 Consumer Cases In India  Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation v Ashok Iron Works Private Limited The Supreme court, in this case, held that a corporate body is included in the meaning of ‘person’ in section 2(1)(m) of the CPA. It reiterated the position of Lord Watson in Dilworth v. Commissioner of Stamps that the word “includes” is generally used to enlarge the meaning of the word but can alternatively be used to say “mean and include”, in which case what follows is an exhaustive
Post a Comment
Read more