Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO)
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 received the
President’s assent on 19th June 2012 and was notified in the Gazette of
India on 20th June, 2012.
The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age. It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography.
POCSO was established to protect the children against offences like sexual abuse, sexual harassment and pornography.
POCSO as accorded by the President of India, aims to offer protections to children from sexual violence, namely sexual assault, sexual harassment and the inclusion of children in pornography. Therefore, all the offences in POCSO Act are non-bailable. POCSO Act is not valid in the state of Jammu and Kashmir where the incident of rape of 8-year-old occurred.
Duties of the Police as Specified in POSCO Rules 2012
As per Rule 4(9) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences
Rules 2012 the Police shall within 24 hours inform the Special Court of
the support person provided to the child in writing.
As per Rule 4(11) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences
Rules 2012 the Police shall inform the parents , support person,
guardian as the case may be about the developments of the case arrest
of the accused and details of various application filed.
and more...
Under Section 12(c) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, every child who has to file or defend a case shall be entitled to legal services under
this Act. The POCSO Act, 2012 confirms the right to free legal aid under Section 40,providing that the child or his/her family shall be entitled to legal counsel of their choice,and that where they are unable to afford such counsel, they shall be entitled to receive one from the Legal Services Authority.
this Act. The POCSO Act, 2012 confirms the right to free legal aid under Section 40,providing that the child or his/her family shall be entitled to legal counsel of their choice,and that where they are unable to afford such counsel, they shall be entitled to receive one from the Legal Services Authority.
IPC
I.P.C. (1860) 375- Rape
I.P.C. (1860) 354- Outraging the modesty of a woman
I.P.C. (1860) 377- Unnatural offences
Why POCSO Act is not valid in the state of Jammu and Kashmir?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment .. When Jammu and Kashmir merged with India it was granted a special autonomous status. With this status the Central government was left with authority over the state only in matters of defence, external affairs, communications and finance which was specified in the Instrument of Accession.
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