Lok Sabha Question No. 1205 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-09
Subject: Child Abuse Cases
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Ashok Mahadeorao Nete

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1205

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.02.2024

## CHILD ABUSE CASES

## 1205:  SHRI ASHOK MAHADEORAO NETE:

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

- (a) whether the Government proposes to formulate any law to check child abuse;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) if not, the measures being taken by the Government to check the incidents of child abuse?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (b): To provide safeguards for children against sexual abuse, the Government of  India  has  enacted  the  special  law  Protection  of  Children  from  Sexual  Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.  The  act  defines  a  child  as  any  person  below  the  age  of  18 years.   Therefore,  Government  has  not  proposed  to  formulate  any  new  law  to check/prevent child abuse.

- (c): The POCSO Act, 2012 was further reviewed and 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.  The POCSO Act, 2012 also provides for establishment of Special Courts for the purpose of ensuring speedy trial.

Further, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act, 2015) (as amended in 2021) is the primary legislation for ensuring the safety, security, dignity and well-being of children. The Act provides for protection of children in need of care and protection and those in conflict with law by catering to their basic needs through care, protection, development, treatment and social re-integration. It defines  standards  of  care  and  protection  to  secure  the  best  interest  of  child.  The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules and Adoption Regulations have also been promulgated under the Act.

The Ministry has notified the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,  2015  (amended  in  2021),  which  has  come  into  effect  from  01.09.2022.  The Ministry  has  also  notified  the  Juvenile  Justice  (Care  and  Protection  of  Children) Amendment  Rules,  2022  on  01.09.2022  and  Adoption  Regulations,  2022  on 23.09.2022.  Among others,  the  Juvenile  Justice  (Care  and  Protection  of  Children)

Amendment Act, 2021 empowers the District Magistrate to function as the focal point for implementation of JJ Act, 2015 and decide the cases of adoption. The amendment also introduces eligibility conditions for appointment of the members of Child Welfare Committee.

As per Section 2(14)(iii) of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act), who resides with a person (whether a guardian of the child or not) and such person- (a) has injured, exploited, abused or neglected the child or has violated any other law for the time being in force meant for the protection of child; or (b) has threatened to kill, injure, exploit or abuse the child and there is a reasonable likelihood of the threat being carried out; is included as a 'child in need of care and protection', among others. Section 75 of the JJ Act, 2015 provides for punishment for cruelty to child.

Section 3 (vi) of JJ Act, 2015 talks about principle of safety which states that all measures shall be taken to ensure that the child is safe and is not subjected to any harm, abuse or maltreatment while in contact with the care and protection system, and thereafter

The  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  is  implementing  Mission Vatsalya Scheme for care, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in difficult circumstances on predefined cost sharing basis between the Central and the State Governments. Under Mission Vatsalya Scheme, support is provided for setting up and maintenance of various types of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) and funds for Non-Institutional  Care.  Such  children  have  access  to  both  institutional  and  noninstitutional care and rehabilitation as per Individual Care Plan (ICP) as mandated JJ Act, 2015 (as amended in 2021).  CCIs provide/support for boarding & lodging; ageappropriate education; access to vocational training; recreation; health care; counselling, etc.

Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has also introduced, the centrally  funded  scheme  namely  'Scheme  for  Care  and  Support  to  Victims  under Section  4  &  6  of  the  POCSO  Act,  2012'  from  NIRBHAYA  fund  to  address  the challenges  faced  by  the  minor  pregnant  girl  child  victims  and  fills  the  gaps  of  the existing  schemes  for  implementation  by  the  State/UT  Governments.   The  main objective  of  this  Scheme  is  to  provide  integrated  support  and  assistance  to  minor pregnant girl child victims under one roof and to facilitate their immediate, emergency and non-emergency access to a range of services for long term rehabilitation in terms of access to education, police assistance, medical (also comprising maternity, neonatal and infant care), psychological, mental health counselling, legal support, NonInstitutional Care support, place of stay in Child Care Institutions/Aftercare facilities and health insurance cover for the girl child victim and her new-born under one roof to enable access to justice and empowerment of such girl child victims.

Further The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 was enacted for effective deterrence against sexual offences. Further, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted to prescribe even more stringent penal provisions including death penalty for rape of girls below the age of 12 years. The Act also inter-alia mandates completion of investigation and filing of charge sheet in rape cases in 2 months and trials to also be completed in 2 months (Section 173 CrPC ).

Further, as per the information received from Department of Justice, Ministry of Law  &  Justice,  in  pursuance  to  the  Criminal  Law  (Amendment)  Act,  2018,  the Government of India finalized a scheme in August, 2019 for setting up Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for expeditious trial and disposal of cases pertaining to rape and POCSO Act, 2012 in a time-bound manner under Centrally Sponsored Scheme. As per data submitted by various High Courts, up to December, 2023, 757 FTSCs including 411 exclusive POCSO (e-POCSO) Courts are functional in 30 States/UTs across  the  country,  which  have  disposed  of  more  than  2,14,000  cases,  since  the inception of the Scheme till 31.12.2023. State-Wise details of functional FTSCS and Cases disposed Under FTSCS as on 31.12.2023 is at Annexure -I .

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ANNEXURE  TO  THE  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO-1205  FOR 09.02.2024  REGARDING  'CHILD  ABUSE  CASES  '  INDICATING  STATE-WISE DETAILS OF FUNCTIONAL FTSCs AND CASES DIPOSED UNDER FTSCs AS OF 31.12.2023.

|       |                   | Functional Courts      | Functional Courts   | Cumulative Disposal since the inception of the Scheme   |
|-------|-------------------|------------------------|---------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|
| S.NO. | State/UT          | FTSCs including ePOCSO | ePOCSO              | Cumulative Disposal since the inception of the Scheme   |
| 1     | Andhra Pradesh    | 16                     | 16                  | 4083                                                    |
| 2     | Assam             | 17                     | 17                  | 4979                                                    |
| 3     | Bihar             | 46                     | 46                  | 9939                                                    |
| 4     | Chandigarh        | 1                      | 0                   | 244                                                     |
| 5     | Chhattisgarh      | 15                     | 11                  | 4377                                                    |
| 6     | Delhi             | 16                     | 11                  | 1503                                                    |
| 7     | Goa               | 1                      | 0                   | 44                                                      |
| 8     | Gujarat           | 35                     | 24                  | 10295                                                   |
| 9     | Haryana           | 16                     | 12                  | 5342                                                    |
| 10    | Himachal Pradesh  | 6                      | 3                   | 1282                                                    |
| 11    | J&K               | 4                      | 2                   | 151                                                     |
| 12    | Jharkhand         | 22                     | 16                  | 5822                                                    |
| 13    | Karnataka         | 31                     | 17                  | 8897                                                    |
| 14    | Kerala            | 54                     | 14                  | 16878                                                   |
| 15    | Madhya Pradesh    | 67                     | 57                  | 23613                                                   |
| 16    | Maharashtra       | 19                     | 10                  | 16907                                                   |
| 17    | Manipur           | 2                      | 0                   | 127                                                     |
| 18    | Meghalaya         | 5                      | 5                   | 382                                                     |
| 19    | Mizoram           | 3                      | 1                   | 169                                                     |
| 20    | Nagaland          | 1                      | 0                   | 57                                                      |
| 21    | Odisha            | 44                     | 23                  | 11960                                                   |
| 22    | Puducherry        | 1                      | 1                   | 44                                                      |
| 23    | Punjab            | 12                     | 3                   | 3565                                                    |
| 24    | Rajasthan         | 45                     | 30                  | 13003                                                   |
| 25    | Tamil Nadu        | 14                     | 14                  | 6228                                                    |
| 26    | Telangana         | 36                     | 0                   | 7799                                                    |
| 27    | Tripura           | 3                      | 1                   | 349                                                     |
| 28    | Uttarakhand       | 4                      | 0                   | 1355                                                    |
| 29    | Uttar Pradesh     | 218                    | 74                  | 55021                                                   |
| 30    | West Bengal       | 3                      | 3                   | 48                                                      |
| 31    | A&N Islands       | 0                      | 0                   | 0                                                       |
| 32    | Arunachal Pradesh | 0                      | 0                   | 0                                                       |
|       | TOTAL             | 757                    | 411                 | 214463                                                  |