The Government of India has legislated various child centric Acts such as the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act (CPCR) 2005, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) for protection and promotion of child rights. While the JJ Act, 2015 ensures the safety, security, dignity and well-being of children, the POCSO Act, 2012 is a comprehensive law that provides protection to children from the offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography. It safeguards the interests of the child at every stage of the judicial process by incorporating child-friendly mechanisms for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and speedy trial of offences through designated Special Courts.

However, police and public order are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility of maintaining law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens including children, rest primarily with the respective State Governments and UT Administration. The State Governments and UT Administrations are competent to deal with such offences under the extant provisions of laws. The Government has issued various Advisories for combating crimes against children.

The POCSO Act has been amended in order to make it more effective in dealing with cases of child sex abuse in the country and notified on 06.08.2019 and made effective from 16.08.2019. It addresses the need for stringent measures to deter the rising trend of child sex abuse in the country on one hand and the menace of relatively new kind of crimes on the other hand. The following amendments have been brought under POCSO Act, 2012 through POCSO (Amendment) Act, 2019:-

1. Section 2 (Definitions) amended to incorporate definition of child pornography;
2. Section 4 (Punishment for penetrative sexual assault) amended to increase quantum of punishment from minimum 7 years to minimum10 years, and minimum 20 years in case of child below 16 years;
3. Section 5 (Aggravated penetrative Sexual Assault) amended to include penetrative sexual assault during natural calamity and similar situations and causing death of child;
4. Section 6 (Punishment for Aggravated penetrative Sexual Assault) amended to increase quantum of minimum punishment from 10 years to minimum 20 years and introducing death penalty as an option;
5. Section 9 (Aggravated Sexual Assault) amended to include assault during situation of natural calamity and similar situations. Punishment stipulated for those who give any kind of chemical substance/ hormone to induce early sexual maturity in a child for the purpose of abuse;
6. Section 14 (Punishment for using Child for pornographic purposes) amended to increase the punishment to minimum five years and to synchronise with IT Act, 2000;
7. Section 15 (Punishment for storage of pornographic material involving child) amended to introduce fine (Rs.5000/- on first occasion, Rs. 10,000 on second occasion) for not reporting child porn material, which could be extended to imprisonment if such material is propagated. If the material is used for commercial purposes, then the minimum punishment will be imprisonment for not less than three years which may extend to five years or with fine or with both and in the event of second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment for a term which may not be less than five years which may extend to seven years and also liable to be fine or with.
8. Section 34 (Procedure in case of Commission of offence by child and determination of age by special court) amended to establish consonance with the JJ Act, 2015;
9. Section 42(Alternative Punishment) amended in order to acknowledge the amendment made vide Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2018;
10. Section 45 (Power to make rules) amended for consequential amendments in view of amendments in sub-section (1) and (2) of Section-15.

As per National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) reports, the number of cases registered as crimes against children in the last four reports of NCRB is given below:

This information was given by the Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

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MM/ SB