Lok Sabha Question No. 558 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-09
Subject: Conviction Rate in POCSO Act
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Ramya  Haridas

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO: 558

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.12.2022

## CONVICTION RATE IN POCSO ACT

## 558.   MS. RAMYA HARIDAS.:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state?

- (a) whether the Fast Track Courts have been set up to look into POCSO cases on priority  basis to ensure effective and proper implementation of the POCSO Act and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  conviction  rate  in  POCSO  cases  along with  the  reasons for the  majority  of child sexual abuse cases ending in acquittal;
- (c) whether the amendment made in POCSO Act by Government led to significant decline of the sexual abuse against the children by acting as a deterrent, if so, the available data thereof; and
- (d) the steps taken by the Government to create awareness regarding the POCSO Act?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (d) The Government of India is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme since October 2019 for setting up of 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) including 389  exclusive  POCSO  (e-POCSO)  courts  for  expeditious  trial  and  disposal  of  cases related  to  rape  and  POCSO  Act.  The  Scheme  which  started  in  Oct  2019,  has  been extended up to 31.03.2023. 681 FTSCs including 381 e-POCSO Courts are presently functional in 27 States/UTs.

As per the information received from National Crime Records Bureau, State/UTwise  Cases  Registered  (CR),  Cases  Charge-sheeted  (CCS),  Cases  Sent  for  Trial (CST), Cases Convicted (CON), Cases Pending Trial at the end of the year (CPTEY), Persons  Arrested  (PAR),  Persons  Charge-sheeted  (PCS)  and  Persons  Convicted (PCV)  under  Protection  of  Children  from  Sexual  Offences  Act  during  2019-2021  is attached at Annexure-I. The reasons for majority of child sexual abuse cases ending in acquittal  are  not  maintained  separately  by National  Crime  Records  Bureau(NCRB), MHA.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, 2012 enacted by Govt  of  India  provides  safeguards  for  children  against  sexual  abuse.  The  Act  was amended in 2019 to introduce more stringent punishment including death penalty for committing sexual crimes on children, with a view to deter the perpetrators & prevent such crimes against children. Section 43 of the POCSO Act, 2012 provides that the Central Government and every State Government shall take all measures to give wide publicity to the provisions of the Act. In accordance with this, the Government has taken various steps from time to time to create awareness of the provisions of the POCSO Act through electronic and print  media,  consultations,  workshops  and  training  programmes  with  stakeholders concerned. Further,  Ministry  of  Women  &  Child  Development  notified  new  POCSO  Rules, 2020 replacing the previous POCSO Rules, 2012. The POCSO Rules 2020 stipulate that the central government and every state government shall prepare age-appropriate educational material and curriculum for children, informing them about various aspects of personal safety. The Rules also stipulates that suitable material and information may be disseminated by the respective Governments in all public places such as panchayat bhavans,  community  centers,  schools  and  colleges,  bus  terminals,  railway  stations, places  of  congregation,  airports,  taxi  stands,  cinema  halls  and  such  other  prominent places and also be disseminated in suitable form in virtual spaces such as internet and

social media.

******

## Annexure to LSUSQ No.558 for answer on 9 th December, 2022

|   S.No. | State/UT          |   Year |   CR |   CCS |   CST |   CON |   CPTEY |   PAR |   PCS |   PCV |
|---------|-------------------|--------|------|-------|-------|-------|---------|-------|-------|-------|
|       1 | Andhra Pradesh    |   2019 |  502 |   313 |   313 |    16 |    1542 |   645 |   589 |    20 |
|       1 |                   |   2020 |  454 |   521 |   521 |    18 |    1863 |   536 |   793 |    19 |
|       1 |                   |   2021 |  466 |   535 |   535 |     8 |    2295 |   716 |   682 |     8 |
|       2 | Arunachal Pradesh |   2019 |   36 |    24 |    24 |     0 |      52 |    40 |    27 |     0 |
|       2 |                   |   2020 |   28 |    18 |    18 |     0 |      70 |    34 |    26 |     0 |
|       2 |                   |   2021 |   23 |    32 |    32 |     6 |      96 |    39 |    36 |     6 |
|       3 | Assam             |   2019 | 1779 |  1396 |  1396 |    83 |    3750 |  1890 |  1548 |    84 |
|       3 |                   |   2020 | 1496 |  1340 |  1340 |    43 |    4720 |  2327 |  1610 |    43 |
|       3 |                   |   2021 | 1926 |  1723 |  1723 |    73 |    5988 |  2686 |  2040 |    77 |
|       4 | Bihar             |   2019 | 1540 |  1184 |  1184 |   113 |    3575 |  1837 |  1532 |   132 |
|       4 |                   |   2020 | 1591 |  1350 |  1350 |    41 |    4853 |  1700 |  1533 |    46 |
|       4 |                   |   2021 | 1571 |  1564 |  1564 |   208 |    6117 |  1737 |  1767 |   236 |
|       5 | Chhattisgarh      |   2019 | 2027 |  2073 |  2073 |   349 |    4799 |  2513 |  2453 |   414 |
|       5 |                   |   2020 | 2049 |  2038 |  2038 |   218 |    6231 |  2459 |  2417 |   245 |
|       5 |                   |   2021 | 2332 |  2323 |  2323 |   274 |    7617 |  2783 |  2755 |   319 |
|       6 | Goa               |   2019 |    0 |     0 |     0 |     0 |       2 |     0 |     0 |     0 |
|       6 |                   |   2020 |    5 |     5 |     5 |     0 |       7 |     5 |     5 |     0 |
|       6 |                   |   2021 |    2 |     1 |     1 |     0 |       8 |     0 |     1 |     0 |
|       7 | Gujarat           |   2019 | 2253 |  2072 |  2072 |    74 |    8604 |  2773 |  2748 |    89 |
|       7 |                   |   2020 | 2345 |  2272 |  2272 |    23 |   10731 |  2985 |  2959 |    27 |
|       7 |                   |   2021 | 2443 |  2390 |  2390 |    71 |   12647 |  2978 |  2971 |    79 |
|       8 | Haryana           |   2019 | 2074 |  1686 |  1686 |   333 |    2962 |  2189 |  2135 |   395 |
|       8 |                   |   2020 | 1853 |  1506 |  1506 |    56 |    4255 |  1928 |  1900 |    67 |
|       8 |                   |   2021 | 2249 |  1683 |  1683 |   205 |    5228 |  2311 |  2192 |   238 |
|       9 | Himachal Pradesh  |   2019 |   12 |     8 |     8 |     0 |      54 |     7 |     9 |     0 |
|       9 |                   |   2020 |    5 |     9 |     9 |     0 |      62 |    11 |    14 |     0 |
|       9 |                   |   2021 |   13 |    10 |    10 |     2 |      66 |    20 |    18 |     2 |
|      10 | Jharkhand         |   2019 |  654 |   459 |   459 |   100 |    1024 |   638 |   530 |   104 |
|      10 |                   |   2020 |  938 |   582 |   582 |   137 |    1398 |   723 |   673 |   152 |
|      10 |                   |   2021 |  806 |   637 |   637 |   107 |    1848 |   689 |   736 |   119 |

|   11. | Karnataka      |   2019 |   2160 |   2021 |   2021 |   190 |   7137 |   2665 |   2633 |   208 |
|-------|----------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|-------|--------|--------|--------|-------|
|    11 | Karnataka      |   2020 |   2104 |   2016 |   2016 |    61 |   8568 |   2527 |   2507 |    69 |
|    11 | Karnataka      |   2021 |   2813 |   2774 |   2774 |   249 |  10027 |   3686 |   3463 |   259 |
|    12 | Kerala         |   2019 |   1283 |   1009 |   1009 |    40 |   4216 |   1443 |   1097 |    42 |
|    12 | Kerala         |   2020 |   2163 |   1522 |   1522 |    41 |   5564 |   2303 |   1720 |    41 |
|    12 | Kerala         |   2021 |   2647 |   2752 |   2752 |   140 |   7724 |   3281 |   3065 |   151 |
|    13 | Madhya Pradesh |   2019 |   6123 |   5867 |   5867 |   874 |   9677 |   7376 |   7454 |  1086 |
|    13 | Madhya Pradesh |   2020 |   5648 |   5558 |   5558 |   482 |  13805 |   6989 |   6964 |   568 |
|    13 | Madhya Pradesh |   2021 |   6070 |   5848 |   5848 |   914 |  16760 |   7068 |   7441 |  1120 |
|    14 | Maharashtra    |   2019 |   6558 |   6295 |   6295 |   706 |  25807 |   8723 |   7510 |   792 |
|    14 | Maharashtra    |   2020 |   5687 |   5750 |   5750 |   308 |  30530 |   7596 |   6956 |   354 |
|    14 | Maharashtra    |   2021 |   6200 |   6443 |   6443 |   527 |  34879 |   8290 |   7395 |   598 |
|    15 | Manipur        |   2019 |     58 |     59 |     59 |     5 |    189 |     59 |     74 |     5 |
|    15 | Manipur        |   2020 |     75 |     53 |     53 |     1 |    241 |     72 |     55 |     1 |
|    15 | Manipur        |   2021 |     97 |     74 |     74 |     7 |    300 |    105 |    103 |     7 |
|    16 | Meghalaya      |   2019 |    219 |    255 |    255 |    96 |    987 |    309 |    287 |    96 |
|    16 | Meghalaya      |   2020 |    328 |    259 |    259 |    48 |   1158 |    347 |    304 |    55 |
|    16 | Meghalaya      |   2021 |    384 |    366 |    366 |    48 |   1454 |    422 |    369 |    48 |
|    17 | Mizoram        |   2019 |     79 |     78 |     78 |    59 |    398 |     79 |     79 |    63 |
|    17 | Mizoram        |   2020 |    105 |    100 |    100 |    44 |    436 |    108 |    104 |    44 |
|    17 | Mizoram        |   2021 |    104 |     97 |     97 |    23 |    505 |     99 |     98 |    26 |
|    18 | Nagaland       |   2019 |     12 |     12 |     12 |     1 |     61 |     14 |     13 |     1 |
|    18 | Nagaland       |   2020 |     18 |     15 |     15 |     6 |     69 |     23 |     17 |     6 |
|    18 | Nagaland       |   2021 |     31 |     30 |     30 |     4 |     94 |     39 |     36 |     4 |
|    19 | Odisha         |   2019 |   2036 |   1779 |   1779 |    33 |   4798 |   2033 |   2124 |    33 |
|    19 | Odisha         |   2020 |   2202 |   2086 |   2086 |    35 |   6661 |   2379 |   2541 |    37 |
|    19 | Odisha         |   2021 |   2498 |   2360 |   2360 |    56 |   8608 |   2647 |   2778 |    57 |
|    20 | Punjab         |   2019 |    389 |    319 |    319 |    87 |    606 |    484 |    375 |   121 |
|    20 | Punjab         |   2020 |    720 |    684 |    684 |    51 |   1154 |    828 |    829 |    70 |
|    20 | Punjab         |   2021 |    751 |    710 |    710 |   105 |   1514 |    867 |    837 |   142 |
|    21 | Rajasthan      |   2019 |    596 |    423 |    423 |   178 |   3152 |    548 |    543 |   216 |
|    21 | Rajasthan      |   2020 |    244 |    161 |    161 |   302 |   2942 |    211 |    209 |   371 |
|    21 | Rajasthan      |   2021 |    601 |    397 |    397 |    85 |   3133 |    526 |    518 |   117 |

| 22.   | Sikkim        |   2019 |    91 |    88 |    88 |   12 |    212 |    95 |    94 |   12 |
|-------|---------------|--------|-------|-------|-------|------|--------|-------|-------|------|
|       |               |   2020 |    98 |    86 |    86 |   11 |    274 |   102 |    91 |   11 |
|       |               |   2021 |   100 |   102 |   102 |   19 |    325 |   111 |   109 |   19 |
| 23.   | Tamil Nadu    |   2019 |  2396 |  2228 |  2228 |  286 |   5599 |  3045 |  2553 |  318 |
|       |               |   2020 |  3090 |  2472 |  2472 |  176 |   7293 |  3795 |  2840 |  260 |
|       |               |   2021 |  4465 |  3373 |  3373 |  226 |   9539 |  5541 |  4046 |  258 |
| 24.   | Telangana     |   2019 |  1998 |  1724 |  1724 |   89 |   3806 |  2549 |  2139 |  108 |
|       |               |   2020 |  2074 |  2053 |  2053 |  102 |   5267 |  2789 |  2471 |  120 |
|       |               |   2021 |  2698 |  2468 |  2468 |   96 |   6828 |  3138 |  2842 |  100 |
| 25.   | Tripura       |   2019 |   176 |   173 |   173 |   34 |    649 |   193 |   183 |   40 |
|       |               |   2020 |   143 |   143 |   143 |   11 |    759 |   181 |   193 |   11 |
|       |               |   2021 |   125 |   135 |   135 |   19 |    832 |   166 |   176 |   21 |
| 26.   | Uttar Pradesh |   2019 |  7594 |  6478 |  6478 | 1002 |  23187 |  9650 |  9377 | 1674 |
|       |               |   2020 |  6898 |  6817 |  6817 | 1276 |  28199 | 10248 |  9882 | 1708 |
|       |               |   2021 |  7129 |  6881 |  6881 | 1514 |  32720 | 10468 |  9882 | 1958 |
| 27.   | Uttarakhand   |   2019 |   369 |   384 |   384 |   92 |    868 |   452 |   451 |  111 |
|       |               |   2020 |   573 |   616 |   616 |   35 |   1434 |   675 |   674 |   39 |
|       |               |   2021 |   712 |   672 |   672 |   42 |   2027 |   801 |   819 |   42 |
| 28.   | West Bengal   |   2019 |  2256 |  2531 |  2531 |   81 |   8367 |  2530 |  3292 |   98 |
|       |               |   2020 |  2657 |  2621 |  2621 |   29 |  10784 |  2568 |  3003 |   30 |
|       |               |   2021 |  2607 |  2640 |  2640 |   68 |  13045 |  2778 |  3303 |   69 |
|       | Total(States) |   2019 | 45270 | 40938 | 40938 | 4933 | 126080 | 54779 | 51849 | 6262 |
|       |               |   2020 | 45591 | 42653 | 42653 | 3555 | 159328 | 56449 | 53290 | 4394 |
|       |               |   2021 | 51863 | 49020 | 49020 | 5096 | 192224 | 63992 | 60478 | 6080 |

| 29.   | A&N Island                 | 2019   | 94    | 87    | 87    | 3    | 291    | 99    | 95    | 3    |
|-------|----------------------------|--------|-------|-------|-------|------|--------|-------|-------|------|
| 29.   | A&N Island                 | 2020   | 118   | 124   | 124   | 11   | 384    | 116   | 137   | 11   |
| 29.   |                            | 2021   | 108   | 107   | 107   | 13   | 381    | 117   | 131   | 15   |
| 30.   | Chandigarh                 | 2019   | 5     | 6     | 6     | 0    | 8      | 5     | 6     | 0    |
| 30.   | Chandigarh                 | 2020   | 0     | 1     | 1     | 0    | 8      | 0     | 2     | 0    |
| 30.   |                            | 2021   | 1     | 0     | 0     | 2    | 5      | 0     | 0     | 2    |
| 31.   | D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu | 2019 + | 54    | 54    | 54    | 0    | 68     | 62    | 56    | 0    |
| 31.   | D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu | 2020   | 42    | 43    | 43    | 2    | 89     | 56    | 51    | 2    |
| 31.   | D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu | 2021   | 53    | 50    | 50    | 2    | 98     | 61    | 57    | 2    |
| 32.   | Delhi                      | 2019   | 1719  | 1589  | 1589  | 718  | 8406   | 2269  | 1924  | 720  |
| 32.   | Delhi                      | 2020   | 1197  | 1667  | 1667  | 72   | 9981   | 1994  | 1927  | 87   |
| 32.   | Delhi                      | 2021   | 1454  | 1579  | 1579  | 42   | 11489  | 1952  | 1895  | 50   |
| 33.   | Jammu &Kashmir             | 2019*  | 109   | 79    | 79    | 0    | 96     | 101   | 98    | 0    |
| 33.   | Jammu &Kashmir             | 2020   | 200   | 153   | 153   | 2    | 242    | 235   | 230   | 4    |
| 33.   | Jammu &Kashmir             | 2021   | 294   | 251   | 251   | 1    | 478    | 343   | 333   | 1    |
| 34.   | Ladakh                     | 2019   | -     | -     | -     | -    | -      | -     | -     | -    |
| 34.   | Ladakh                     | 2020   | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0    | 1      | 0     | 0     | 0    |
| 34.   | Ladakh                     | 2021   | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0    | 1      | 0     | 0     | 0    |
| 35.   | Lakshadweep                | 2019   | 25    | 11    | 11    | 0    | 26     | 27    | 13    | 0    |
| 35.   | Lakshadweep                | 2020   | 8     | 6     | 6     | 2    | 29     | 11    | 6     | 2    |
| 35.   | Lakshadweep                | 2021   | 14    | 19    | 19    | 0    | 46     | 31    | 21    | 0    |
| 36.   | Puducherry                 | 2019   | 48    | 45    | 45    | 4    | 209    | 74    | 74    | 4    |
| 36.   | Puducherry                 | 2020   | 65    | 62    | 62    | 42   | 209    | 141   | 120   | 42   |
| 36.   | Puducherry                 | 2021   | 87    | 103   | 103   | 0    | 312    | 169   | 111   | 0    |
|       | Total (UTs)                | 2019   | 2054  | 1871  | 1871  | 725  | 9104   | 2637  | 2266  | 727  |
|       | Total (UTs)                | 2020   | 1630  | 2056  | 2056  | 131  | 10943  | 2553  | 2473  | 148  |
|       | Total (UTs)                | 2021   | 2011  | 2109  | 2109  | 60   | 12810  | 2673  | 2548  | 70   |
|       | All India (States and UTs) | 2019   | 47324 | 42809 | 42809 | 5658 | 135184 | 57416 | 54115 | 6989 |
|       | All India (States and UTs) | 2020   | 47221 | 44709 | 44709 | 3686 | 170271 | 59002 | 55763 | 4542 |
|       | All India (States and UTs) | 2021   | 53874 | 51129 | 51129 | 5156 | 205034 | 66665 | 63026 | 6150 |

Source: National Crime Record Bureau(NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs

CR: Cases Registered       CSS: Cases Charge-sheeted    CST:  Cases Sent for Trial   CON: Cases Convicted    CIPTEY: Cases Pending Trial at the end of the year

PAR: Persons Arrested    PCS: Persons Charge-sheeted   PCV: Persons Convicted

+ Combined data of erstwhile D&N Haveli UT and Daman & Diu during 2019

* Data of erstwhile J&K State including Ladakh during 2019