Supreme Court Clarifies Mandatory Reporting Obligations under POCSO Act
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The Supreme Court has ruled that school authorities cannot bypass the POCSO Act by conducting internal inquiries into child abuse, emphasizing that mandatory reporting to police is a non-negotiable legal duty.
In a significant judicial intervention, the Supreme Court has reinforced the stringent requirements of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The Court restored a criminal case against a school headmistress who had failed to report an instance of child sexual abuse to the police, opting instead to conduct a private, internal inquiry.
The apex court clarified that the mandate under Section 19 of the POCSO Act is absolute. Once school authorities receive credible information regarding an offence under the Act, the legal obligation to report it to the police or the Special Juvenile Police Unit is triggered immediately. The Court observed that internal investigations by school management cannot substitute for the statutory reporting mechanism, as such actions often lead to the suppression of evidence, intimidation of victims, and a delay in justice delivery.
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