Court can’t reduce minimum sentence given in Pocso Act

Subject : Governance

Section : Vulnerable population

Concept :

The courts have no power to reduce the minimum sentence prescribed in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on convicting the accused for committing sexual assault on children, the High Court of Karnataka has said while enhancing lesser sentence imposed on a convict by a special court.
It is settled principle of law and requires no emphasis that when a statute prescribes minimum sentence, the trial judge or the appellate judge has no discretion whatsoever to reduce the minimum sentence prescribed by the statute.

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development led the introduction of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2012 in consequence to India’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992.
It was enacted to protect the children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography with due regard for safeguarding the interest and well-being of children.
It defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age and regards the best interests and welfare of the child as a matter of paramount importance at every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child.
It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography.
It deems a sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a person in a position of trust or authority like a family member, police officer, teacher, or doctor.
It also casts the police in the role of child protectors during the investigative process.
The Act stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must be disposed of within one year from the date the offence is reported.
It was amended in August 2019 to provide more stringent punishment, including the death penalty, for sexual crimes against children.