THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT, 2012
ACT NO. 32 OF 2012
[19th June, 2012.]
An Act to protect children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography and provide for establishment of Special Courts for trial of such offences and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
WHEREAS clause (3) of article 15 of the Constitution, inter alia, empowers the State to make special provisions for children
AND WHEREAS, the Government of India has acceded on the 11th December, 1992 to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, which has prescribed a set of standards to be followed by all State parties in securing the best interests of the child;
AND WHEREAS it is necessary for the proper development of the child that his or her right to privacy and confidentiality be protected and respected by every person by all means and through all stages of a judicial process involving the child;
AND WHEREAS it is imperative that the law operates in a manner that the best interest and well being of the child are regarded as being of paramount importance at every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child;
AND WHEREAS the State parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child are required to undertake all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent
a. the inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity
b. the exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices
c. the exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials;
AND WHEREAS sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children are heinous crimes and need to be effectively addressed
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Sixty-third Year of the Republic of India as follows:--
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
SECTION 1
SHORT TITLE, EXTENT AND COMMENCEMENT
1.This Act may be called the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012
2. It extends to the whole of India
The words “except the State of Jammu and Kashmir” omitted by Act 34 of 2019, s. 95 and the Fifth Schedule(w.e.f. 31-10-2019).
3. It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint
SECTION 2
DEFINITIONS.
1. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,
A. "AGGRAVATED PENETRATIVE SEXUAL ASSAULT"
"Aggravated penetrative sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 5;
B. "AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT"
"Aggravated sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 9;
C. "ARMED FORCES OR SECURITY FORCES"
"Armed forces or security forces" means armed forces of the Union or security forces or policeforces, as specified in the Schedule;
D. "CHILD"
"Child" means any person below the age of eighteen years;
DA. "CHILD PORNOGRAPHY"
"Child Pornography (Ins. by Act 25 of 2019, s. 2 (w.e.f. 16-08-2019).) means any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child which include photograph, video, digital or computer-generated image indistinguishable from an actual child and image created, adapted, or modified, but appear to depict a child;
E. "DOMESTIC RELATIONSHIP"
"Domestic relationship" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (f) of section 2 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (43 of 2005);
F. "PENETRATIVE SEXUAL ASSAULT"
"Penetrative sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 3;
G. “PRESCRIBED”
“Prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act
H. “RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION”
“Religious institution” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in the ReligiousInstitutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988 (41 of 1988
I. “SEXUAL ASSAULT"
Sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 7
J. “SEXUAL HARASSMENT"
Sexual harassment" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 11;
K. "SHARED HOUSEHOLD"
"Shared household" means a household where the person charged with the offence lives or has lived at any time in a domestic relationship with the child;
L. "SPECIAL COURT"
Special Court" means a court designated as such under section 28
M. "SPECIAL PUBLIC PROSECUTOR"
"Special Public Prosecutor" means a Public Prosecutor appointed under section 32
2. The words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Indian Penal Code(45 of 1860), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), [the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (2 of 2016)] and the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000) shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the said Codes or the Acts