The Delhi High Court has ruled that the mandatory reporting of offences under The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act will override the restrictions imposed by Sections 198(1) and 198 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The ruling was made in response to a plea filed by an NGO, Independent Thought, which sought a declaration that POCSO Act's Section 19 and 21 will override CrPC's Sections 198(1) and 198(3). The bench, comprising Justices Manmohan and Saurabh Banerjee, noted that there was no distinct category within child victims of rape as those who are married and those who are not. However, the Court clarified that it has not dealt with the larger issue of marital rape of an adult woman in the present proceedings. The bench further said that POCSO is a special law and that "when a general law and a special law dealing with some common aspects are in question, the rule adopted and applied is one of harmonious construction whereby the general law, to the extent dealt with by the special law, is impliedly repealed".
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TAGS: Delhi High Court POCSO Act mandatory reporting restrictions Section 198 CrPC Independent Thought v Union of India & Anr cognizance marriage minors lunatics guardian inconsistency child victims rape adult woman NGO special law harmonious construction limitation extension Trial Court Central Government Standing Counsel Monika Arora Yash Tyagi Subhrodeep.
