Open Access Research Article

PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES IN INDIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE POCSO ACT, 2012, ITS IMPLEMENTATION AND EMERGING LEGAL CHALLENGES

Author(s):
AVANISH NAIN PROFF. SUSHILA DEVI CHAUHAN
Journal IJLRA
ISSN 2582-6433
Access Open Access
Volume 3
Issue 8
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Abstract

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) was conceived as a self-contained, gender-neutral and child-centric code that would remedy the inadequacy of the general penal law in addressing child sexual abuse in India. More than thirteen years after its commencement, the statute stands at a critical juncture. Official data show that registrations under the Act rose from 32,608 cases in 2017 to 69,191 in 2024, while the crime rate against children climbed to 42.3 per lakh child population. Yet the justice-delivery picture is sobering: trial pendency remained close to ninety per cent in 2022, the national conviction rate declined to about 29 per cent by 2023, and Fast Track Special Courts, despite achieving a disposal rate of 109 per cent in 2025, continued to carry a backlog of over 2.45 lakh rape and POCSO cases. This paper undertakes a doctrinal and empirical analysis of the POCSO framework, its 2019 amendment, its interface with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court up to November 2026. It examines four emerging challenges: the criminalisation of consensual adolescent relationships and the "Romeo–Juliet" debate catalysed by State of U.P. v. Anurudh (2026); the expanding use of Article 142 to temper mandatory sentences; the regulation of child sexual exploitation and abuse material (CSEAM) after Just Rights for Children Alliance v. S. Harish (2024); and the alleged misuse of the Act in matrimonial and custody disputes, alongside the rebuttable presumptions under sections 29–30. The paper finds that the law's protective architecture is sound but that its effectiveness is undermined by institutional deficits, rigid age-based liability and inconsistent judicial responses. It recommends a narrowly tailored close-in-age exception, a statutory sentencing guideline, strengthened victim-support infrastructure, technology-specific CSEAM provisions and a national POCSO data dashboard.

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Authors: AVANISH NAIN & PROFF. SUSHILA DEVI CHAUHANRegistration ID: 1013554 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13554 & IJLRA13555Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, India

Article Information

PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES IN INDIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE POCSO ACT, 2012, ITS IMPLEMENTATION AND EMERGING LEGAL CHALLENGES

Authors: AVANISH NAIN, PROFF. SUSHILA DEVI CHAUHAN

  • Journal IJLRA
  • ISSN 2582-6433
  • Volume 3
  • Issue 8
Citation Download Paper Full Details Search on Google Search on Google Scholar

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International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis

  • AbbreviationIJLRA
  • ISSN2582-6433
  • AccessOpen Access
  • LicenseCC 4.0

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