Govt approves death penalty clause in POCSO Act

New Delhi: The government has approved amendments to the POCSO Act and introduced stringent measures to check circulation of child pornography and administration of hormones to children to attain early sexual maturity.

Briefing reporters, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said children should be protected from sexual offences and the Cabinet has approved amendments to various sections of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

“This is a wholesome initiative whereby the entire POCSO architecture is not only strengthened but also enlarged so that artificial medicines or hormones could not be abused to kill the childliness of a child,” he said.

An unfortunate thing was going on in the country – that children were being administered hormones to make them artificially majors, he said.

The provision of the death penalty has also been included for those found guilty of aggravated assault on a child. Several states, including Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, had earlier approved the death penalty for those found guilty of raping children below 12 years of age.