‘POCSO Act is gender neutral’; Karnataka High Court refuses to quash sexual assault case against Woman.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

Ø The Act, being a progressive enactment, is intended to safeguard the sanctity of childhood. It is rooted in gendral neutrality with its beneficient object being the protection of all children, irrespective of sex. The Act is thus, gender neutral.

Ø Sections 3 and 5 which form the foundation for offences under Sections 4 and 6 of the Act, delineate various forms of assault. Although certain provisions may employ gendered pronouns, the preamble and purpose of the Act, render such usage inclusive. Therefore, it is inclusive of both male and female.

Ø The ingredients of Section 4 of the Act dealing with penetrative sexual assault are equally applicable to both men and women. The language of the provision clearly indicates inclusivity.

Ø The ingredients of the offences, the ones punishable under Sections 4 and 6 of the Act, are clearly met in the case at hand.

Ø Delay in registration of the crime, in the case at hand, cannot become the reason for quashment of the proceedings, owing to the alleged offence and the age of the victim.

Ø The submissions of psychological impossibility and absence of potency testing, fall flat in the light of modern jurisprudence, noted hereinabove.

Ø The submission that psychological trauma cannot result in an erection would tumble down, in the light of several studies, that psychological trauma does not always prelude physiological or biological reactions, especially ones of coercion and fear.

Ø The submission that, in an intercourse the woman is only a passive participant and a man is an active participant is noted only to be emphatically rejected, as the thought itself is archaic. The jurisprudence of the present times embraces the livid realities of victims and does not allow stereotypes to cloud legal scrutiny.

 In the High Court of Karnataka

(Before M. Nagaprasanna, J.)

Archana Patil  Vs State of Karnataka

Criminal Petition No. 12777 of 2024

Decided on August 18, 2025, 

Citation: 2025 SCC OnLine Kar 17687

Print Page

How Pocso amendment Act 2019 made it more gender neutral?

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, was already designed to be gender-neutral regarding victims, but the 2019 Amendment Act further solidified this by making it gender-neutral with respect to both perpetrators and victims through the expansion of definitions and stringent punishment provisions. The amendment ensures that a child is defined as any person under the age of 18, regardless of gender, and the law applies uniformly to all, irrespective of the perpetrator's gender. 

Here is how the 2019 Amendment enhanced the gender-neutrality of the POCSO Act:

Print Page

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2019

 

[Act 25 of 2019] [5th August, 2019]

An Act further to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Seventieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—

1. Short title and commencement.— (1) This Act may be called the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2019.

(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

2. Amendment of Section 2.— In the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (32 of 2012) (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), in Section 2,—

(a) in sub-section (1), after clause (d), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:—

‘(da) “child pornography” 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;’;

(b) in sub-section (2), for the words, brackets and figures “the Juvenile Justice

(Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000” (56 of 2000), the words, brackets and figures “the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015” (2 of 2016) shall be substituted.

Print Page

“Private Viewing” Isn’t Private Immunity: Supreme Court Recasts Child Pornography Law Under POCSO & IT Act (2024 INSC 716)

The Supreme Court’s reportable decision in Just Rights for Children Alliance & Anr. v. S. Harish & Ors. (Criminal Appeal Nos. 2161–2162 of 2024, decided on 23 September 2024) is a watershed moment in India’s cyber–child protection jurisprudence. It corrects a trend of quashing prosecutions on the premise that mere storage or private viewing of child sexual abuse material is not punishable unless there is proof of publication or transmission.

At its core, the judgment does two things for the legal system: first, it gives a structured, mens rea–centric interpretation of Section 15 of the POCSO Act (post-2019 amendment) as creating three distinct offences; second, it situates Section 67B of the IT Act as a broad anti-exploitation provision that criminalises not only dissemination, but also consumption-related conduct such as browsing and downloading.

Print Page