New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has said that a woman can also face criminal proceedings under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the court proceedings for this offence are not limited to only men. 

Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani said that the POCSO Act was made to protect children from sexual crimes. Whether the crime is committed by a man or a woman. He said that there is no reason why the word person used in section 3 (penetrative sexual assault) should be read only in the context of a man.

Decision came on the petition of an accused in POCSO case

The court's decision came last week on a petition by an accused in a POCSO case, who argued that since she is a woman, she cannot be tried for the offence of POCSO. Questioning the framing of charges against her, the accused argued that a reading of the provision shows that it repeatedly uses the pronoun 'he' to address a male, which means that the legislature intended to proceed only against a male offender. 

However, the court said that there is no reason why the word person mentioned in section-3 of the POCSO Act should be read only in the context of a man. The court said in the verdict, 'Accordingly it is held that the acts mentioned in section-3 and five (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act are crimes regardless of the gender status of the offender, provided that these acts are committed on a child.'