Section 2 of POCSO Act 2012 - Definitions and Interpretation
Section 2 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) defines the expressions used throughout the Act. These definitions determine who is a child, the meaning of the principal sexual offences, the courts and prosecutors under the Act, and other important statutory terms.
Statutory text of Section 2
2. Definitions. - (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -
- (a) "aggravated penetrative sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 5;
- (b) "aggravated sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 9;
- (c) "armed forces or security forces" means armed forces of the Union or security forces or police forces, as specified in the Schedule;
- (d) "child" means any person below the age of eighteen years;
- (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;
- (e) "domestic relationship" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (f) of section 2 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (43 of 2005);
- (f) "penetrative sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 3;
- (g) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
- (h) "religious institution" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in the Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988 (41 of 1988);
- (i) "sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 7;
- (j) "sexual harassment" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 11;
- (k) "shared household" means a household where the person charged with the offence lives or has lived at any time in a domestic relationship with the child;
- (l) "Special Court" means a court designated as such under section 28;
- (m) "Special Public Prosecutor" means a Public Prosecutor appointed under section 32.
(2) The words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000) shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the said Codes or the Acts.
Amendment note: Clause (da), defining "child pornography", and the reference to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 were inserted/substituted by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 25 of 2019), with effect from 16 August 2019.
Meaning of the important definitions
Child - Section 2(1)(d)
The Act fixes the age threshold at below eighteen years. This definition is central to the operation of POCSO because the offences and child-friendly procedures under the Act are designed for persons who fall within this age requirement.
Child pornography - Section 2(1)(da)
The 2019 amendment added a specific definition covering visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct involving a child. It expressly includes photographs, videos, digital or computer-generated images indistinguishable from an actual child, and images created, adapted or modified so as to appear to depict a child. The expression is relevant particularly to section 13 and sections 14 and 15.
Sexual offences defined by cross-reference
Section 2 does not repeat the ingredients of the principal sexual offences. Instead, penetrative sexual assault refers to section 3, aggravated penetrative sexual assault to section 5, sexual assault to section 7, aggravated sexual assault to section 9, and sexual harassment to section 11. The relevant offence section must therefore be read with its corresponding punishment provision.
Special Court and Special Public Prosecutor
A "Special Court" is a court designated under section 28 for trial of offences under the Act. A "Special Public Prosecutor" is a Public Prosecutor appointed under section 32 to conduct cases before the Special Court.
Section 2(2) and the new criminal laws
The text of section 2(2) contains references to the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024, subject to their commencement notifications and savings provisions. For current proceedings, the POCSO Act should therefore be read together with the applicable new criminal law and the relevant repeal-and-savings provisions; older proceedings may continue to be governed by the saved provisions of the earlier law.