Lok Sabha Question No. 970 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-05
Subject: POCSO Act
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Tanuj Punia

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 970

TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.12.2025

## POCSO ACT

## 970: SHRI TANUJ PUNIA:

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, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of the conviction rate in POCSO cases along with the reasons for the majority of child sexual abuse cases ending in acquittal;
- (c) whether the amendments made in POCSO Act by Government have led to significant decline in cases of sexual abuse against the children, by acting as a deterrent, if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the details of the steps taken by the Government to create awareness regarding the POCSO Act?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a) to (d): Government accords the highest priority for ensuring safety and security of children and has undertaken various initiatives in this regard. To safeguard children against sexual abuse and sexual harassment, Government has already enacted The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. It defines a child as any person below the age of 18 years.

The  POCSO  Act,  2012  was  amended  in  2019  to  introduce  more  stringent punishments including death penalty for committing sexual crimes on children, with a view  to  deter  the  perpetrators  &  prevent  such  crimes.  The  POCSO  Act,  2012  also provides for establishment of Special Courts for the purpose of ensuring speedy trial.

The Department of Justice (DoJ), Ministry of Law & Justice has informed that a Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  for  setting  up  Fast  Track  Special  Courts  (FTSCs)

including  exclusive  POCSO  Courts  for  expeditious  trial  and  disposal  of  Rape  and POCSO Act cases was launched in October, 2019. The Scheme having been extended twice (with the latest extension up to 31st March 2026) provides for the establishment of  790  courts.  The  total  financial  outlay  of  the  scheme  is  Rs.  1952.23  cr.  with  Rs. 1207.24 cr. as Central Share to be incurred from Nirbhaya Fund on the CSS pattern.

DoJ  has  also  informed  that  as  per  the  data  provided  by  the  High  Courts,  773 FTSCs, including 400 exclusive POCSO Courts, are functional across 29 States/UTs as on 30.09.2025. Since the inception of the Scheme, these courts have collectively disposed of 3,50,685 cases, including 2,25,617 cases by exclusive POCSO courts.

Further, as per information provided by the High Courts, the average conviction rate  in  rape  and  POCSO  Act  cases  handled  under  the  Fast  Track  Special  Courts Scheme stood at 18.59% in the year 2024. The State and UT - wise details of conviction rate under Fast Track Special Courts during 2024 is at Annexure .

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.

Ministry of Women & Child Development notified 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  stipulate  that  suitable  material  and  information  may  be disseminated by the respective Governments in all public places such as panchayat bhavans,  community  centres,  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.

Under Section 44 of the POCSO Act, 2012, and Rule 12 of the POCSO Rules, 2020, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has been mandated to  monitor  the  implementation  of  the  POCSO  Act,  2012.  To  create  awareness  and facilitation  of  lodging  of  grievances  pertaining  to  sexual  offences  and  their  effective processing, the NCPCR has undertaken the following initiatives:

1. POCSO  E-Box: NCPCR's  Online  Mechanism  for  Reporting  Child  Sexual Offences :  The  POCSO  e-Box  is  an  online  complaint-management  system launched by the NCPCR to provide children a simple, confidential, and accessible platform to report incidents of sexual abuse or sexual offences under the POCSO Act,  2012.  Designed  as  a  child-friendly  digital  mechanism,  the  e-Box  enables children, parents, teachers, or any concerned citizen to register complaints easily through the NCPCR website.
2. NCPCR Guidelines on Support Persons under Section 39 of the POCSO Act, 2012: NCPCR has formulated Guidelines with respect to Support Persons under

Section 39 of the POCSO Act in consultation with the State Governments and Union Territories to deal with cases of sexual abuse. These guidelines outline a structured  mechanism  for  appointing  and  regulating  Support  Persons  to  assist child victims through a criminal justice process. They ensure that the child receives timely information about case progress, protection from secondary victimisation, coordination  with  police,  medical  authorities,  and  Special  Courts,  and  help  in accessing compensation, counselling, and rehabilitation services.

3. POCSO Tracking  Portal: For  expeditious  redressal  and  to  improve  the  postinvestigation justice experience for victims, NCPCR has developed a dedicated POCSO  Tracking  Portal.  It  facilitates  interdepartmental  coordination  between CWCs, DCPUs, Legal Services Authorities, and State Governments. This platform enables  tracking  and  monitoring  of  compensation  awarded  to  child  victims, ensuring timely disbursal under relevant victim compensation schemes.
4. IEC Materials on Sexual Offense: NCPCR has made short videos on issues of sexual violence against children and POCSO for generating awareness. These videos are available on YouTube. NCPCR has also designed various leaflets and pamphlets  as  ready  reference  material  for  spreading  awareness  on  salient provisions of POCSO Act, 2012.
5. Review  Meetings: The  Commission  has  been  addressing  issues  of  sexual violence against children through its periodic review meetings with key stakeholders at State and District levels.
6. Organising Workshops and Conferences for Sensitization and Awareness: NCPCR  undertakes  conferences,  workshops  at  National,  Regional,  State  and District level for various stakeholders for their sensitization and awareness.
7. Awareness on POCSO Act through Textbooks: NCPCR got included the details of POCSO E-Box in the NCERT Text books to create awareness amongst children.
8. Manual on Safety and Security of Children in Schools: NCPCR has developed a  comprehensive  manual  on  'Safety  and  Security  of  Children  in  Schools'  for compliance  and  adherence  of  the  safety  parameters  by  the  schools.  It  also includes information on Sexual Abuse and salient features of POCSO Act, 2012.

Additionally, Savitribai Phule National Institute of Women and Child Development (SPNIWCD) has also organised a number of training programmes of duty holders on POCSO Act and Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. The details of the same are as under:

## A. Training Programmes POCSO Act:

| Year    |   No. of Training Programmes organised |   No. of Participants |
|---------|----------------------------------------|-----------------------|
| 2023-24 |                                     11 |                   542 |
| 2024-25 |                                     14 |                   752 |
| 2025-26 |                                      4 |                   165 |
| Total   |                                     29 |                  1459 |

- B. Training Programmes on Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse (April,2020 to March,2025) are as under:

| Year    |   No. of Training Programmes organised |   No. of Participants |
|---------|----------------------------------------|-----------------------|
| 2020-21 |                                     38 |                  4078 |
| 2021-22 |                                     12 |                   743 |
| 2022-23 |                                     13 |                   751 |
| 2023-24 |                                     12 |                   639 |
| 2024-25 |                                     14 |                   813 |
| Total   |                                     89 |                  7024 |

***

ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE TO THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 970 FOR 05.12.2025 REGARDING  'POCSO  ACT'  INDICATING  STATE  AND  UT  WISE  DETAILS  OF CONVICTION RATE UNDER FTSCS DURING 2024.

|   Sl. No. | States/UTs            | Average Conviction rate (%)   |
|-----------|-----------------------|-------------------------------|
|         1 | Andhra Pradesh        | 5.19                          |
|         2 | Assam                 | 35                            |
|         3 | Bihar                 | 14.51                         |
|         4 | Chandigarh            | 16.915                        |
|         5 | Chhattisgarh          | 23.69                         |
|         6 | Delhi                 | 8.59                          |
|         7 | Goa                   | 9.69                          |
|         8 | Gujarat               | 9.53                          |
|         9 | Haryana               | 40.5                          |
|        10 | Himachal Pradesh 8.24 |                               |
|        11 | J&K                   | 4.5                           |
|        12 | Jharkhand             | 14.78                         |
|        13 | Karnataka 8.1         |                               |
|        14 | Kerala 13             |                               |
|        15 | Madhya Pradesh 14.5   |                               |
|        16 | Maharashtra 6.07      |                               |
|        17 | Manipur 7             |                               |
|        18 | Meghalaya 45          |                               |
|        19 | Mizoram 33.5          |                               |
|        20 | Nagaland              | 25                            |
|        21 | Odisha                | 10.63                         |
|        22 | Puducherry            | 17.94                         |
|        23 | Punjab                | 47.19                         |
|        24 | Rajasthan             | 18.29                         |
|        25 | Tamil Nadu            | 25.82                         |
|        26 | Telangana             | 7                             |
|        27 | Tripura               | 5.3                           |
|        28 | Uttar Pradesh         | 25.11                         |

|   29 | Uttarakhand   |   22.5 |
|------|---------------|--------|
|   30 | West Bengal   |      2 |