The POCSO Act, 2012
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act — what it protects every child from, who must report, and how the law protects a child through the case.
The POCSO Act — the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 — protects every child, meaning anyone under 18, girls and boys alike, from sexual assault, sexual harassment and use in pornography. Anyone who knows or suspects an offence must report it to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or the local police. A child’s evidence must be recorded within 30 days of a Special Court taking the case, and the trial completed within a year where possible. For help, call Childline on 1098.
Key takeaways
- A "child" is any person under 18. The Act uses gender-neutral language, so it protects boys exactly as it protects girls.
- Reporting is a legal duty for everyone who knows or suspects an offence — not only parents or teachers. Failing to report can be punished; a child is never punished for failing to report.
- Since 2019, penetrative sexual assault carries at least ten years, at least twenty where the child is under sixteen, and aggravated penetrative sexual assault at least twenty years, with death also available.
- A child’s statement is taken where the child lives or chooses, by a woman officer where practicable, not in uniform — and no child may be kept at a police station overnight.
- A child who makes a false complaint is never punished. An adult who knowingly makes a false complaint against a child can be.
- Aggravated penetrative sexual assault (s. 6)death, or life
- Penetrative sexual assault (s. 4)life
- Aggravated sexual assault (s. 10)7 years
- Sexual assault (s. 8)5 years
- Sexual harassment of a child (s. 12)3 years
Maximum sentences, from the sections as amended. Each offence also has a minimum — ten years for penetrative sexual assault, twenty where the child is under sixteen or the assault is aggravated — set out in the table below. Bars shown full width are life imprisonment or death.
What the POCSO Act is, and who it protects
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 is Act 32 of 2012, in force since 14 November 2012. It is a special law for sexual offences against children, with its own offences, its own courts and its own procedure for taking a child’s evidence.
It protects a "child", which section 2(d) defines as "any person below the age of eighteen years". The definition says nothing about sex or gender, and neither do the offences, so the Act protects boys and girls equally. It applies whoever the offender is, including a family member, a teacher or someone in a position of trust.
It was significantly strengthened by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2019, in force from 16 August 2019, which raised minimum punishments and substituted a new section 6 that includes death among the punishments for aggravated penetrative sexual assault. The Act works alongside the general criminal law rather than replacing it (s. 42A).
The offences under POCSO, and their punishments
The Act pairs each offence with an aggravated form. An offence becomes aggravated where the offender holds a position of trust or authority — a police officer, a member of the armed forces, a public servant, staff of a jail, hospital or educational institution, a relative — or where the circumstances are especially grave, including where the child is under twelve, as section 5 and section 9 set out in detail.
The punishments below are as amended in 2019. Where the Act says a fine is to be imposed, it also says the fine must be "just and reasonable and paid to the victim to meet the medical expenses and rehabilitation of such victim" (ss. 4(3), 6(2)).
| Offence | Section | Punishment |
|---|---|---|
| Penetrative sexual assault | 4(1) | At least 10 years, up to life, and fine |
| Penetrative sexual assault on a child under 16 | 4(2) | At least 20 years, up to life for the rest of natural life, and fine |
| Aggravated penetrative sexual assault | 6 | Rigorous imprisonment of at least 20 years, up to life for the rest of natural life, and fine — or death |
| Sexual assault | 8 | At least 3 years, up to 5, and fine |
| Aggravated sexual assault | 10 | At least 5 years, up to 7, and fine |
| Sexual harassment of a child | 12 | Up to 3 years, and fine |
A child being under twelve is one of the grounds that makes penetrative sexual assault aggravated (s. 5(m)). But death under section 6 is available for every form of aggravated penetrative sexual assault, not only that one — pages that say death applies only where the child is under twelve have it wrong.
Who must report an offence under POCSO
Section 19(1) puts the duty on "any person (including the child)" who has an apprehension that an offence is likely to be committed or knows that one has been committed. The information goes to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or the local police. It must be given an entry number, written down, read back to the informant and entered in a register; if a child reports, it must be recorded in simple language the child understands, with an interpreter where needed.
Section 20 extends the duty to people who come across sexually exploitative material involving a child in the course of work — personnel of the media, hotels, lodges, hospitals, clubs, studios and photographic facilities, whatever the size of the establishment.
Failing to report or record an offence is itself punishable: up to six months, or fine, or both (s. 21(1)). A person in charge of a company or institution who fails to report an offence involving a subordinate under their control faces up to one year and fine (s. 21(2)). None of this applies to a child (s. 21(3)).
Section 22 punishes a false complaint only where it is made "solely with the intention to humiliate, extort or threaten or defame". A child who makes a false complaint is never punished (s. 22(2)). An adult who knowingly makes a false complaint against a child, victimising that child, can be punished with up to one year (s. 22(3)).
How the law protects a child through the process
Much of the Act is about taking a child’s account without harming the child further. The protections are duties, not courtesies.
| Stage | What the Act requires | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Statement to police | Recorded at the child’s home or a place of the child’s choice, by a woman officer not below sub-inspector where practicable, with the officer not in uniform | 24(1)–(2) |
| Contact with the accused | The child must not come into contact with the accused at any point while being examined | 24(3) |
| Police station | No child may be detained in a police station at night for any reason | 24(4) |
| Recording | The statement is recorded as spoken by the child, in the presence of a parent or trusted person | 26 |
| Medical examination | Can take place even before an FIR; a girl is examined by a woman doctor, with a parent or trusted person present | 27 |
| Media | No report may disclose the child’s name, address, photograph, family, school, neighbourhood or anything else that could identify the child, unless the Special Court permits it in the child’s interest | 23(2) |
| Testifying | The child must not be exposed to the accused while giving evidence; the trial is held in camera with a parent or trusted person present | 36, 37 |
Special Courts and time limits
For speedy trial, each State must designate a Court of Session in every district as a Special Court for POCSO offences, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court (s. 28).
The Act sets two time limits for that court. The child’s evidence must be recorded within thirty days of the Special Court taking cognizance, and any delay must be explained in writing. The trial must be completed, as far as possible, within one year of cognizance (s. 35).
The family or guardian of the child may engage a legal practitioner of their choice (s. 40), and the court may use a translator or interpreter, and for a child with a disability a special educator or someone familiar with how the child communicates (s. 38). Every child is within the categories eligible for free legal services under section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
More questions about this page
What is the full form of POCSO?▼
Does the POCSO Act protect boys?▼
Who is legally required to report child sexual abuse?▼
What is the punishment for not reporting under POCSO?▼
What is the minimum punishment under POCSO section 4?▼
Can a child be punished for a false POCSO complaint?▼
How long does a POCSO trial take?▼
Official sources checked
The statutes, rules and regulator pages the statements on this page were checked against.
- Sections 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 19–24, 26–28, 35–38, 40 and 42A read in full; the 2019 amendment and its commencement date confirmed from the consolidated Act’s footnotes.
- The national toll-free child helpline, integrated with the 112 emergency response system.
What happens, and how long each part takes
- A report is madeas soon as someone knows
To the Special Juvenile Police Unit or the local police. It is given an entry number, written down and read back; a child’s report is recorded in simple language (s. 19). Childline, 1098, is the national toll-free helpline for children in difficult situations.
- The child’s statementat a place of the child’s choosing
By a woman officer where practicable, not in uniform, never in contact with the accused, and never keeping the child at the station overnight (s. 24).
- From here the police and the court run it
After the report and the statement, the case moves on the investigating agency’s timetable and the Special Court’s. The Act’s protections for the child apply throughout, and the family may engage a lawyer of their choice.
Medical examinationeven before an FIRA girl is examined by a woman doctor, with a parent or trusted person present (s. 27).
- The Special Court takes the casea designated Court of Session in the district
The case is heard by the Special Court, in camera, with a parent or trusted person present (ss. 28, 37).
- The child gives evidencewithin 30 days of cognizance
Without being exposed to the accused. Any delay must be explained in writing (ss. 35(1), 36).
- The trial endswithin one year, as far as possible
Measured from the date the Special Court took cognizance (s. 35(2)).
The time limits are the Act’s own. The stages are the protections the Act guarantees the child, not a description of the case against the accused, which this page does not cover.
The sections of the POCSO Act people look up
| Section | What it does |
|---|---|
| s. 2 | DefinitionsDefinitions — a child is anyone under 18. |
| s. 3 | Penetrative sexual assaultPenetrative sexual assault. |
| s. 4 | Punishment for penetrative sexual assaultIts punishment: at least 10 years, or 20 if the child is under 16. |
| s. 5 | Aggravated penetrative sexual assaultWhen penetrative sexual assault is aggravated. |
| s. 6 | Punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assaultIts punishment: at least 20 years, up to life, or death. |
| s. 7 | Sexual assaultSexual assault. |
| s. 9 | Aggravated sexual assaultWhen sexual assault is aggravated. |
| s. 11 | Sexual harassmentSexual harassment of a child. |
| s. 13 | Use of child for pornographic purposesUsing a child for pornographic purposes. |
| s. 19 | Reporting of offencesThe duty on everyone to report. |
| s. 21 | Punishment for failure to report or record a casePunishment for failing to report. |
| s. 22 | Punishment for false complaint or false informationFalse complaints — and why a child is never punished. |
| s. 23 | Procedure for mediaMedia must not identify the child. |
| s. 24 | Recording of statement of a childHow police record a child’s statement. |
| s. 27 | Medical examination of a childMedical examination of a child. |
| s. 28 | Designation of Special CourtsSpecial Courts. |
| s. 35 | Period for recording of evidence of child and disposal of caseEvidence in 30 days, trial in a year. |
What to do next
A criminal matter is not something to work out from a page, and this one does not pretend otherwise. Whether you are complaining or answering a charge, the next step is a lawyer.
Free legal services are a legal entitlement, not charity. Under section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 they are available to anyone in custody, every woman and every child, members of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, persons with disabilities, victims of trafficking or of a disaster or caste atrocity, industrial workers, and anyone whose income is below the limit their State sets — provided the legal services authority is satisfied there is a case to bring or defend (section 13).
- NALSA — National Legal Services Authority
- NALSA legal aid helpline (toll-free): 15100
- Your District Legal Services Authority. Every district has one, at the district court, and it is the office that arranges a lawyer.
- Child Helpline (toll-free): 1098Run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and connected to the 112 emergency response system.
Not legal advice. This page explains what a provision says and how the procedure around it works, checked against the Act as in force on the date shown. It is not advice about a charge, a complaint or an arrest, and it cannot be: whether a provision fits a set of facts is the question a court decides, and the facts a page cannot see are usually the ones that matter. If you are facing a criminal matter, or deciding whether to start one, speak to an advocate.
No legal reviewer, deliberately. GetNyay is not a law firm and does not practise law. Nothing on this page is legal advice or a substitute for advice from an advocate on your own facts. Our tax and consumer pages carry a Chartered Accountant’s review credit; that credential does not extend to criminal law, so these pages carry none. We would rather show you the sources than a review that has not happened — every section number and classification here is cited to the Act or the Schedule it came from, with the date checked.
Last reviewed September 2026.