Critically analyse the features of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019(POCSO), and bring out the gaps currently being witnessed in the criminal justice system of the country to effectively prevent child sexual abuse. (250 words)

To read ammendment bill of POSCO 2019........click here

To Read about complete article(Imp lines are below).....Click here

To read about National Commission of Child..........Click here

POSCO Act stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must be disposed-off within a year from the date the offence is reported. However, there are 160,989 cases of Pocso Act pending trial in courts across the country. Timely availability of data (age- and gender-based segregation) is also a big concern at the state, district and town level. In September 2019, the law ministry proposed a scheme to have fast track special courts (FTSC) for the expeditious disposal of cases of rape and Pocso Act.




The Out of Shadow Index, a benchmarking index developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, examines how stakeholders in 40 countries are responding to the threat of child sexual abuse and exploitation. India ranks 15th on this index, with a score of 57.6 out of 100. The key indicators important for criminal justice delivery process on which India scores 50 or less includes access to victim support programmes, complaint mechanism, civil society engagement, protecting child interests, child-specific rape laws, contextual legal framework, national plans and policies, government and law enforcement capacity and social protection. This research also specifically recommend strengthening participation by and support from non-governmental groups.



According to the recent report on Pocso by the registrar of the Supreme Court, there are 36% of cases where time taken for completion of investigation is more than six months (in 20% cases, it is more than a year). In 49% of the cases, it took more than a month for the police to deposit samples with forensics laboratories. Inexcusably, there are 96% cases without a support person, and 99% cases in which interim and final compensation is not provided. Moreover, two-thirds of the cases are pending trial for more than a year.