EFFICACY OF LEGISLATION IN REGARD TO CHILD ABUSE : A STUDY ON POCSO ACT By-*Arjun Krishna J., Athul Harikumar Nair & G. Jibin
EFFICACY OF LEGISLATION IN REGARD
TO CHILD ABUSE
: A STUDY ON POCSO ACT
Authored By-*Arjun Krishna J.
Student, 1st Year BBA.LL.B
Student, 1st Year BBA.LL.B
Co. Author-*Athul Harikumar Nair
Student, 1st Year B.A.LL.B.
Student, 1st Year B.A.LL.B.
*G. Jibin
Student, 1st Year B.A.LL.B.
Student, 1st Year B.A.LL.B.
*Kristu Jayanti College of Law, Bengaluru
Abstract
A child must play a vital role in the
development of a nation. Children face many problems in our society. The
problem of children is a global and social problem that exists all over the
world. Child sexual abuse is a growing social problem which is threatening the
society. Child abuse is increasing at an alarming rate without any without
considering the sex, colour, nationality, religion, caste, and language etc. of
the children. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act defines seven
types of sexual offences, including attempted offences, which recently got
amended by the Act of 2019[1]. Although
this Act was passed, still the abuses against the children continue to rise.
Such kind of atrocities not only affect a child physically and mentally but also
put a scar in their mind set up for the future. It affects their level of
confidence and also creates incurable trauma. The crimes against children
should be considered as an injustice to whole humanity. The Government of India
issued a number of programmes to abolish this social problem, but everything
proved to be existing only in the papers. This paper tries to find out the
efficacy of the said legislation and also tries to highlight the loopholes
which are present after the amendment. Relevant judicial decisions are also
being discussed to support the arguments.
Keywords: POCSO, child abuse,
loopholes
Introduction
“Childhood should be carefree,
playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul” - Dave
Pelzer.
Sexual offence is defined as any
unwelcome sexual action on the physical, intellectual, or mental level of
consciousness that leads to the suppression of the victim`s will by invading
personal space when the victim feels compelled or manipulated and involves the
infliction of suffering. (Kissing, groping, sexual activity etc.) Inducing
adults on children without their consent can also be seen as assault. Numerous
injuries are suffered by the victim, including serious danger to reproductive
health, STIs, severe depression, suicidal ideation, and other things. No social
problem is as universal as oppression of the child. Sexual crimes have
increased dramatically in every country in the world over the last two decades.
The Constitution of India grants every child the right to life with dignity and
privacy under Article 21, the right to equality under Article14, the right to
against discrimination under article 15 and the right against exploitation
under Article 23 and 24 respectively. Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences Act was introduced in the year 2012 by Ministry of Women and Child
Development of India, to protect minors from the horror of sexual abuse. But is
it being implemented properly, has it made any difference? Why was there an
increase of POCSO cases by 12.1% increase? Who is to be blamed, is it the
government, the judiciary or the public? Is society safe for our children?
POCSO Act was enacted with a view to protect the children from sexual abuse and
exploitation. This Act includes 9 chapters, 46 clauses. POCSO defines seven
kinds of sexual offences, including the abetment and attempt to commit an
offence. The POCSO Act 2012 has been amended on 2019, act has a number of
provisions to safeguard children from sexual harassment offences. This
amendment ensures the offences against children are gender-neutral. Punishment
for sexual offences was increased from 10 years to 20 years. Amendment also
helped to the formation of special courts in every area to ensure a fast trial
and exact execution of justice.
The cases of sexual abuse and
exploitation are not decreasing but increasing by every day. All the laws are
in place but violence against children is increasing. Why? Lack of
effectiveness of law is a central problem.
Lack of an appropriate legal remedy to the ever-increasing number of sexual
offences against children was a significant threat to children's well-being and
to the maintenance of justice in society. Absence of victim protection and
support: One in three children who faced sexual abuse dropped out of school,
they face lack of education. The
establishment of welfare centres will emphasize the importance of the
responsibility of ensuring that children receive full justice and are not
further harmed by court proceedings.
Section 3 of the POCSO
ACT 2012 states that penetration of any object or any body part into any
private part or mouth of the child is punishable under law.
Section 4 of the POCSO
ACT 2012 states that the penetrative sexual assaulter will be imprisoned for a
term not less than 10 years and may be extended to life imprisonment. This
punishment may be extended to a minimum 20 years if the child is below the age
of 16.
Section 5 of POCSO ACT
2012 states that if the offender is the authority or position of trust to the
victim if there is a blood relation between the offender and the victim or if
the victim becomes carrying or if the child suffers any injury a minimum of 10
years of imprisonment that may be extended to life imprisonment with a penalty.
Section 11 of POCSO ACT
2012 states that if the offender displays or shares any kind of sexual content
to the victim through message or any other kind of communication. He said to
commit a sexual harassment is not a touch based offence instead a sexual intent
is required. A maximum of 3 years of imprisonment with a fine shall be given.
Section 13 of POCSO ACT
2012 states that using children for a pornographic purpose is an offence. It
includes displaying the sexual organ of a child or using a child for actual or
simulated sexual pleasure that could be with or without penetration or
representation of a child in decently.
Today the Governments
in both state and central level are trying their level best to get rid of the
systems, but still, it is happening in many nooks and corners of our country.
Literature Review:
Dr. Manoj Kumar Therayil [2], The Protection of Children from
Sexual Offences Act In Clinical Settings- Promises and Challenges-
It said inadequate police response,
lack of access to adequate medical services, lack of access to effective legal
assistance, and lack of coordinated support services were the highlighted
problems. Other factors include social stigma, fear of retribution by
perpetrators, and lack of trust in state institutions. The Nation, State
Commissions for the Protection of Children's Sight is tasked with conducting
awareness campaigns, and all state agencies, including police, doctors,
parents, and teachers, have enacted various provisions of the law, which are
still only on paper.
Mrs. Pragya Lodha[3],
the Prevention of
POCSO ACT and Ethical Considerations for Children in Therapeutic Practise-
A challenge that calls into question
the ethical implementation of POCSO ACT is the lack of trained legal, medical
and police personnel who are often overwhelmed when dealing with perpetrators
and victims. Described as a threat. In addition, there are no full-time female
directors. This poses additional challenges to the safety of female victims in
the investigative process. This also does not fall under legal investigation
requirements.
Mrs. Sydney Moirangthem [4], Child Sexual Abuse; Issues and
Concerns-
He explained that the law imposes a
legal obligation on fraternity groups and institutions to provide free medical
care to survivors. Refunds must be made responsibly. Otherwise, hospitals may
provide poor medical procedures or refuse comprehensive treatment.
Mrs. K. Susheel Bavath [5], Legal Implications of POCSO ACT,
2012 – An Analysis-
He stated the reported wait rate for
actual child rapes increased from 20,594 in 2010 to 37,519 in 2014. A
significant increase of around 84%, a wait that continues as reports increase
in the trial process. In India, eight cases of child sexual abuse continue to
be reported every day.
Number: 4,444 registered child rape
cases increased from 5,484 cases in 2009 to
13,766 cases in 2014. Over the past
two years, 6816 cases have been registered as FIR`s under POCSO ACT .555 cases
alone went to court and 166 cases defendants were convicted while 389
defendants were acquitted.
Mr. Atrijo Banerjee [6], Increasing Efficiency of Trail
Courts in India-
This article states that delay in
deciding the cases means delay in delivery of justice. This results in gross
injustice to both the victims of crimes and innocent under trials wrongly
accused of being criminals.
Mrs. Shivani Nair [7], Analysis of the POCSO Amendment
Bill, 2019–
She stated that the penalties for
violations prior to the amendment were from a minimum of seven years'
imprisonment to life imprisonment and a fine. The bill also provides that
anyone who sexually assaults a minor under the age of 16 will be sentenced to
imprisonment with a minimum of 20 years' imprisonment and possibly life
imprisonment.
Mrs. Mahima Sharma [8], POCSO Amendment Act, 2019:
Synopsis-
According to 2016 data from the
National Criminal Records Service, the conviction rate for POCSO cases was
29.6%, with a compliance rate of 89%. Due to the alarmingly high pending rate
of child abuse cases, the Supreme Court has ordered the High Court to set up a
panel of judges to regulate and monitor cases under the POCSO Act. The Supreme
Court noted that despite the enactment of the Child Protection Act in 2017,
states like Uttar Pradesh have more than 30,000 lawsuits pending against under
the POCSO Act. Court ordered a review of the backlog.
Mr. Mayank Tiwari [9],
Critical Analysis of
India`s Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012-
The article or paper stated that:
This rule only recognizes a child's birth certificate, school certificate, or
enrolment certificate. However, children who are unable to provide
documentation must undergo a bone test. This test provides a rough estimate of
your child's age. POCSO law requires what documents must be considered to prove
a child's age, adjudicating a child in case of doubt if an ossification test
does not give an accurate estimate. It must be clearly defined whether.
Statement of Problem:
Society faces many problems due to
POCSO crime. Society always thinks about the safety of children. A child who
has been sexually abused has to face some very serious consequences such as: B.
Violent and dangerous behaviours such as depression and anxiety that ruin his
life and negatively affect all aspects of society.
Objectives:
?
To
suggest the changes required in the POCSO Act of 2019.
?
To
suggest ways to make the implementation of POCSO Act more effective.
Research Questions:
?
Is
the POCSO Act of 2019 effectively implemented?
?
What
are the improvements needed in the POCSO Act of 2019?
Hypothesis:
Although the punishments of POCSO
have been made more rigorous, the implementation of this law is what India is
lacking.
Research Methodology:
Present study is mainly based on
primary data collected by doctrinal research and also the secondary data has
been collected from different sources which include the official data as well
as available literature on the subject from different journals, books,
articles, newspapers etc. Method of research is critical analysis.
Limitations:
Child sexual abuse
cases that do not fall within the meaning of rape within the meaning of section
376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and prior to the enactment of POCSO in 2012
may be classified as misdemeanour offenses of women's resentment. Reports of
IPC Article 354 violations are prohibited by the CRPC more than three years
from the date of the incident. A provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
(CRPC) prohibits judges from acknowledging a case beyond a certain period of
time. Thus, historical reports of child sexual offenses occurring before 2012
present an insurmountable legal obstacle to the registration of past child
sexual offenses. These cases are not limited to institutional It also includes
domestic abuse when the child has difficulty reporting the crime or perpetrator
at the earliest opportunity. Significant Reasons: Sexual abuse reports delayed
significantly from the date of the violation may be due to factors such as: Syndrome:
Children therefore keep their abuse a secret for fear that no one will believe
that abuse leads to conforming behaviour. If so, the chances of collecting
direct physical and medical evidence are believed to be less than 5%.
Study Result:
Child abuse is a virus that has been
corroding our society for age`s. The central government came up with an act to
exterminate this virus. It was introduced in 14th November, 2012 and named it
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO). But this act has some
limitations and problems. So, it was amended for the first time on 16th August,
2019. In the amendment punishment for sexual offences was increased from 10
years to 20 years with a provision of death penalty. It also defined child
pornography and made the offence punishable under the Information Technology
Act. This act only existed for name’s sake; it didn't have any effect on our
society. The number of POCSO cases has rapidly increased by 30% in the past 5
years. The largest number of cases filed under POCSO 2021 was in UP (7129)[10] ,
followed by Maharashtra (6200) [11], Madhya
Pradesh (6070) [12], Tamil
Nadu (4465)[13] ,
Karnataka (2813)[14]
altogether there was rise of 16.2%[15]
crimes against children in 2021 compared to previous year. Sikkim had the
highest rate of crime against children at (72.4)[16].
Meanwhile, Nagaland has the lowest rate of crime against children at (6.2)[17] . Among
Union territories Delhi has the highest rate of crime against children in 2021
with (128.5). In, 2021 in India 140 children were raped and murdered. There
were 359 cases reported on suicide of children. The largest number of murder of
children took place in UP. According to a study conducted by the Lok Sabha in
March 2022, more than 2.26 lakh cases were registered under POCSO act are still
pending as of 31st 2021[18]
From the above-mentioned information,
we can conclude that even though the POCSO ACT exists it is not fully complete,
there is a need for some amendments to the existing Act and also special POCSO
court where cases are still pending. This is a major flaw of the system.
Indra Kumar Pradhan vs State of Sikkim [19]
Indra Kumar Pradhan was sentenced
under Section 10 of the POCSO Act only to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of
5000 rupees. Her victim, a girl around the age of , was about to go to her
prisoner's store to buy her goods, when the prisoner took her to 's room and
sexually abused her. I was. The incident occurred on September 14, 2014, but
the victim's father filed a report with the police on October 21, 2014. During
the course of the investigation, it was also established that the defendant had
sexually abused the victim twice, on different occasions, and did not disclose
this to her parents for fear of flogging. However, the delay in filing the FIR
and some minor discrepancies in the declarations asserted in the appeal were
found to be sufficiently explained and accepted by the Court. The victim's
testimony in this case was consistently unwavering, despite her young age of
4,444. Therefore, the inmate's appeal was dismissed and dismissed, and he was
forced to surrender immediately and was punished.
Dr. Jaseer Aboobacker, s/o. Mahammood vs State of Kerala, [20]
In this case, a complaint was filed
against Dr. Supporters of Jaseer 's subscription claimed that his ex-wife, Dr .
Shamna Muhammad, and his mother abused his 9-year-old minor boy who was born
into Muhammad's marriage. This was superseded when there was an ongoing custody
battle between Petitioner and Respondent. The former was seeking continued
custody of his son and was seeking termination of visitation rights. Defendant
claimed to have persuaded a minor child to file a complaint against Defendant
seeking an amendment to his Family Court Order granting visitation rights to
Applicant.
In order to obtain an affirmative
determination in a custody application currently pending in family court, the
defendant's contention that such material allegations were made cannot simply
be dismissed after consideration of all the documents. As a result, after
signing his Rs. 50,000 bond with two competent guarantors, the defendant was
granted bail under various conditions in his case of arrest.
Nishikant Maruti v/s The State of Maharashtra [21]
Briefly, in 2015, plaintiff Smt.
Sunanda Pathade lived in Jodmod, Aurangpura with her husband and three
children. The victim at that time was about 9 years old. Defendant Nishikant
lived in the same area. The victim frequently visited her friend's house near
the accused. On January 24, 2015, after returning from work, the complainant
found daughter crying and urinating repeatedly. When asked by her daughter, she
said her genitals were inflamed. Further investigation revealed that the victim
ran off near. Nishikant 's house, called her home alone, pulled her down, and
indulged in sex with. I confessed that I felt pain in my vagina. When the
defendant was questioned, he flatly denied such allegations, and then on
January 25, 2015, Plaintiff filed her complaint with the Police Department. The
victim underwent a medical examination. Defendant pleaded not guilty and
claimed to be tried. A total of 4,444 defenses were denied for the defendants.
Defendant questioned on behalf of defense witnesses. Defense witnesses said the
defendant was not at his home at the time of the incident and was at work.
Defendant's further defense is that there was a dispute between applicant and
defendant regarding money lending transactions. After many
Arguments, verdict and order of
Sessions Case No. 54/2015 of 24 August 2015, issued by Judge Learned Sessions,
Amravati sentenced defendants under section 5(m) and read aloud in Section 6 of
Protection. RI for her 10 years, 5 months non-compliance with RI is upheld by
the Children of Sexual Offenses ACT 2012 fined Rs.5000/-.
Sachin Kumar Singhraha v/s The State Of Madhya Pradesh [22]
The victim's father's
brother came from his village and drove the victim's child to school in a
vehicle owned and driven by the defendant. The former got out of the car near
Sabzi Mandi based on the defendant's assurance that he would take the victim's
child to school as he would have to pay for his daughter's school fees. The
child drove 4,444 defendants to school in a car, but did not return home that
day. She was unable to track down the victim's child despite frantic
searches by her parents, relatives and villagers. The deceased's father
suspected that the defendant had left his
daughter elsewhere, but the first complaint against an unknown assailant came
and the defendant ordered his 2 Arrested a day later. Shortly thereafter, the
defendant's affidavit was recorded and the defendant took police and witnesses
to the site where the school bag and body were disposed of. After trial, the
defendant was convicted by the court of first instance, and the High Court
upheld his sentence. Sections 376(A), 302 and 201(II) of the IPC as well as
Section 5(i) (m) and Section 6 POCSO Act are supported by him. However, the wording
has been corrected. The defendant was
sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Akshay Kailas Purohit (In Jail) v/s State of Maharashtra Thr. P.S.O [23]
Sagar Bagani used to
run a hardware store in the village of Telhara in the Akora district. His
residence is adjacent to his shop just behind his shop, where he lived with his
family. They included their underage daughter, Vishaka or Lado (deceased), aged
two and a half. The whistle blower had five of his servants in his shop, including
Defendant #1-Pacheng. Rad, a minor, was cared for by Defendant #1. The
informants had specifically instructed Defendant No. 1 not to take children
outside of the store and home. On February 27, 2014 around 6pm, the
whistleblower was in the store with the child. He asked Defendant 1 to leave
the child with his mother. Half an hour later , the informant returned to the
apartment after closing, but did not find his daughter, Rad. He searched for
Rad and attempted to contact Defendant 1. When I contacted Defendant, there
were many evasive replies, such as Defendant 2 taking Rad to her. The informant
suspected that Defendant 1, along with Defendant 2, plotted against her and
kidnapped Rad. During the course of the investigation, confessions led to the
seizure of naked corpses of children along with several other items such as
knives, sandals. Prosecutors relied on a variety of circumstances to prosecute.
Defendant No. 1 - Akshay Pachange and Defendant No. 2 - Akshay Purohit are
subject to Section 363, 364A, 302, 201, 120B (Section 34 of Indian Penal Code
and The Information Technology Act.
Jarnail Singh v/s State of Haryana[24]
The eldest daughter of
Jagdish Singh and Savitri Devi disappeared from their home on the night of
25/26 March 1993. The former filed her claim against defendant Jarnail Singh.
The defendant's convictions by the first instance and high courts were largely
based on the testimony of prosecution witnesses of her. It turns out that the
victim was abducted by Defendant and taken to the UP location, where he was
raped.
After being arrested,
the defendant pleaded not guilty and was brought before the trial.
After a rigorous review
of evidence and testimony, the court found defendant Jarnail Singh guilty.
Nipuna Saxena v/s Union of India 16
Pursuant to the Supreme
Court's ruling in this instance, the violation of Section 23 of POCSO Conduct
renders the publisher or owner of Media, Studio, or Photographic
Establishment jointly
and severally liable for its acts or omissions as employees.
Information to help the
public identify the victim, including the victim's name, in print,
electronically, on social media or remotely.
Notwithstanding the
consent of the next of kin, the names or identities of victims of death or
mental illness should not be disclosed unless the circumstances justifying
disclosure persist, to be determined by the competent authority. In this case,
the departmental judge was the competent authority. 3. FIRs for POCSO
violations and violations under IPC Sections 376, 376-A, 376-AB, 376-B, 376-C,
or 376-D may not be published.
If a victim files an
appeal under her Section 372 CrPC without disclosing her identity, the appeal
will be made in accordance with the law.
All documents
identifying the victim should be kept in a sealed envelope whenever possible.
Similar documents should be used in place of these documents and the victim's
name should be removed from public records.
The victim's name and
identity must be kept confidential from investigative authorities or any
authority contacted by the court. This obligation applies to any authority
receiving a report filed in a sealed envelope with an investigating authority
or court.
Before the government
takes action under Section 228-A(1)(c) and establishes standard as directed by
the Company, the next of kin must disclose their identity only to a judge at an
appropriate hearing. A deceased victim or a victim of a mental illness as
defined in Section 228-A (2) (c) IPC.
Under the POCSO Act
2012, special courts may authorize disclosure of the identity of a juvenile
victim only when it is in the child's best interest
Within one year of the
judgment date, every state and union territory was required to establish at
least one "one-shop centre” in each district.
In this case, the main
question the High Court dealt with was "whether holding a child's hand and removing the penis in her
presence falls within the definition of sexual assault under Section 7 of the
POCSO Act." was. Nagpur Bank determined that: Holding a minor's hand to
unzip his pants is outside the scope of the POCSO Act 2012 and is more likely
to be considered sexual harassment. Applicant has not been convicted of
aggravated sexual assault under Sections 10, 12 of the POCSO Act and other
provisions of the IPC. Therefore, this decision was as controversial as the
skin-to-skin verdict. The judgement creates a negative impact on society.
Why the 2012 Act did
got amended?
The Amendment Act
modifies the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act)
to improve or provide for a minimum imprisonment for certain crimes in order to
deter perpetrators and keep children safe.
Loopholes of POCSO
Act 2019:
Here are a number of
confusing loopholes in the amendment. The compensation structure is not stated
explicitly. A compensation plan for victims of sexual abuse has been published
by the National Legal Services Authority. The Ministry of Women and Child
Development has not issued any regulations in accordance with the amendment's
proposals, and the Bill does not state who will be compensated in the event
that the victim dies. It is necessary for the ministry to establish guidelines
for appropriate compensation. There are no rules defining how those in
positions of authority (police officers or civil workers) would be tried when
it comes to the provisions under aggravated assault. For a nation where power
and lawlessness are prevalent, outlining these facts is essential.
Reason behind the
requirement to amend POCSO Act 2019:
The minimum sentence is
increased from seven to ten years. It further states that anyone found guilty
of penetrating sexual assault on a child under 16 will face a sentence of 20
years to life in jail and a fine. The amended definition of aggravated
penetrative sexual assault now includes two additional grounds. These include I
assaults that result in a child's death and (ii) assaults carried out in the
midst of a natural disaster or other violent circumstances. Currently,
aggravated penetrative sexual assault carries a sentence of 10 years to life in
prison and a fine. Additionally, it raises both the minimum and maximum
sentences from ten to twenty years in prison, respectively. All the
above-mentioned things were not there in POCSO ACT 2012[25] hence it was amended in
2019.
Finding:
In our society, the
POCSO ACT has created less awareness among people. The amendment made in 2019
the implementation of the process is not very effective in our society. Even
though it was introduced in 2012 and later amended in 2019, no major changes
have occurred in the past three years. Children are still abused and crime
rates are still increasing day by day. Article 21, of the constitution gives
fundamental rights to a girl child to live a life of dignity. The POCSO ACT is
a landmark legislation for the protection of child rights and to prevent the
sexual abuse and exploitation of children but in our society this is not
applicable properly. In the new post-conviction era the victims face a number
of problems in our society. Our research paper finds that India is more
vulnerable in crimes against children.
Many of the POCSO cases
are going unreported because 90% of the time the abusers are close relatives of
the child and the child may think complaining against the loved one is bad or
wrong, also families tend to cover up such issues so as to avoid spoiling the
family name. There is hope in our society because in the upcoming generation
both boys and girls are educated and they have modern thinking and it could
reduce the crime rates. It is the duty of future generations to fight against
such social injustice. They should oppose the tendency to keep such crimes
secret inside the family.
Conclusion:
As talking about sex is
taboo in rural parts of India, self-awareness about safe sex, good touch, bad
touch is lacking in both sexes of children and also many adults are not even
aware of the fact that such an Act exist, even though POCSO has been in
existence for more than 10 years and recently amended in 2019. This lack of
acknowledgement of the Act has increased the crime against children. Even
though the Act claims to be gender neutral it focused more on women rather than
men. The POCSO ACT already makes the procedure child friendly but this approach
should be followed by the judicial officer and police officials so that the
child victims could repose trust in them. One would be surprised to know that
in the unfortunate rape case Delhi, the Delhi police includes the provision of
POCSO after 2 days of filing the FIR.
I would like to quote
the words of the famous writer William Wordswoth from his poem “my heart leaps
up” which he wrote in the year 1802, in which he wrote a line “child is the
father of man”. This means that the behaviour and activities of a person's
childhood go a long way in building a personality. Now imagine scarring a child
in his childhood, what`s going to happen? That scarred memory is going to stay
with him till his or her last breath and there is very less or no chance that a
kid is able to recover from child trauma.
References:
Mrs. Surbhi Garg (“The
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences: A Critical Analysis”),
Journal of Legal Studies and Research, volume 4,
(2018).
Mr. Manoj Kumar
Therayil (“The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in Clinical
Settings-Promises and Challenges”), Kerala Journal of Psychiatry, (2019).
Mrs Ankita Gupta
(“Implementation of the POCSO Act; Goals,Gaps and Challenges”), Study of Cases
of Special Courts in Delhi and Mumbai (2012-2015).
[2] Dr. Manoj Kumar Therayil, “The Protection of Children
from Sexual Offences Act In Clinical Settings- Promises and Challenges” 32(2)
KJP 27 (2018)
[3] Pragya Lodha, “The Prevention of POCSO Act and
Ethical Considerations for Children in Therapeutic Practise” 1.5(2) GBE 34
(2017)
[4] Sydney Moirangthem, “Child Sexual Abuse; Issues and
Concerns” 42 IJMR 1 (2015)
[5] K Susheel Bavath “Legal Implementation of POCSO ACT”
1 IJMR 12 (2016)
[6] Atrijo Banarjee “Increasing Efficiency of Trail
Courts in India” 2 TLV 1 (2021)
[8] Mahima Sharma “POCSO Amendment Act 2019 ,
Synopsis” ILS 1 (2019)
[9] Jurist Student Commentary,2020
[10] NCRB data | Crime against kids: a third still under
POCSO BY Esha Roy
[11] NCRB data | Crime against kids: a third still under
POCSO BY Esha Roy
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Crl.A.no.17 of 2015
[20] Dp(fc).no.141 of 2021
[21] Cri.appeal.373.15
[22] Criminal reframe no.05/2015 Criminal appeal
no.2303/2015
[23] Criminal appeal no.171/2017
[24] Criminal appeal no. 1209 of 2010 16Writ
petition(civil) no.565 of 2012.
[25] Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act
,2012(Act 32 of 2012)