POCSO · 3
Penetrative sexual assault
Penetration of a child's body, or making the child do so, in any of the enumerated ways; punishable under s. 4 with not less than ten years (twenty for a child under sixteen), extending to life.
Library
Criminal
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012
2012 · Ministry of Women and Child Development · 46 sections
Gender-neutral special law against sexual assault, harassment and pornography involving children under eighteen, with child-friendly procedure, special courts and a presumption of guilt.
Most-invoked sections
POCSO · 7
Sexual assault
Touching a child with sexual intent without penetration, or making the child touch; punishable under s. 8 with three to five years.
POCSO · 11
Sexual harassment
Uttering words, showing objects, stalking, threatening to use depictions, or enticing for pornographic purposes with sexual intent; punishable under s. 12 with up to three years.
POCSO · 19
Reporting of offences
Any person with knowledge or apprehension of an offence shall report it to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or local police; failure to report is itself an offence under s. 21.
POCSO · 29
Presumption as to certain offences
Where a person is prosecuted for offences under ss. 3, 5, 7 and 9, the Special Court shall presume commission unless the contrary is proved.
POCSO · 33
Procedure and powers of Special Court
Child-friendly trial: questions put through the court, no aggressive questioning, frequent breaks, in-camera proceedings, and trial to be completed within one year.
The text shown is a working summary used inside Nyaya for grounding and UI preview. For verbatim reproduction, refer to the bare Act published on indiacode.nic.in.