Aparna Singh Sengar, Symbiosis Law School, Pune
Introduction
Before the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (hereinafter as “POCSO”) Act of 2012 was enacted, there was no special legislation dealing with special offenses concerning children's sexual offenses. The Indian Penal Code (hereinafter as “IPC”) of 1860 dealt generally with the crimes and punished the perpetrators. In fact, IPC 1860 did not only deal with child sex crimes but also with the existence of sections like 322 on physical harm, 354 on punishment of assault on women who dislike their humility; Sec.375, on rape; and finally Sec.377, on unnatural assailants and section 360 on sexual harassment.1 Since those parts of the IPC did not define modesty in specific terms, they covered conventional peno-vaginal sex only in the definition of rape and were only given precedence to the women victims, and hence not to gender-neutral, many criminals were unpunished for their breach. The lack of an appropriate legal remedy to the ever-increasing number of sexual offenses against children was a significant threat to children’s well-being and to the maintenance of justice in society.
