Objectives and Applicability of the POCSO Act, 2012 Explained Through Cases
Neolexvision Blog, https://www.aequivic.in/post/objectives-and-applicability-of-the-pocso-act-2012-explained-through-cases
4 Pages Posted: 24 Apr 2021 Last revised: 11 Jun 2021
Date Written: April 14, 2021
Abstract
Children are the future of India and got protection under various laws implicitly or explicitly. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) is enacted with the main objective of protection of children from various kinds of sexual abuses and offences. Before POCSO Act, 2012, the cases of child sexual abuse were dealt with under the sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. While dealing with an important issue of “Punishing an adolescent boy who enters into a relationship with a minor girl by treating him as an offender, was never the objective of the POCSO Act” in the case of Vijayalakshmi and Another v. State Rep. by Inspector of Police and Another 2021 SCC OnLine Mad 317, the court has clarified the very essence of the POCSO Act, 2012. The present case is a rape matter under which the both accused and the victim eloped after being in a romantic affair and the court granted bail to the accused under Section 482 of Cr. P. C. With the help of other precedents laid down by the courts and analysis of the POCSO Act, 2012, the author has tried to draw a fair conclusion to the issue mentioned above.
Keywords: POCSO Act, Sexual Offences, Child Sexual Abuse, Precedents, Indian Penal Code
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