§ Four characteristics

• A special law. It is self-contained: it creates offences, prescribes procedure, designates courts, alters the rules of evidence and provides for the child's care. By Section 42A it prevails over any inconsistent law.

• A protective law. Its object is the protection of a class of persons, so its provisions are construed in the manner that advances that protection, and the best interest of the child governs every discretion.

• A stringent law. It carries minimum sentences, a reversed burden through the presumptions in Sections 29 and 30, and a duty on every person to report.

• A procedural reform as much as a penal statute. Chapters V to VIII are longer than the chapters creating offences, which shows where the legislative effort went.

§ Where the neutrality lies, and where it does not

The victim. Section 2(1)(d) defines a child as any person below the age of eighteen years. Nothing turns on the child's sex, and every offence in Chapter II is framed as whoever does the described act to a child. A boy victim and a girl victim are protected in identical terms.

This was the single largest gap in the earlier law, under which the gravest offence protected a woman alone, and abuse of a boy had to be brought under provisions never written for children.

Some provisions do distinguish by sex, and deliberately. Section 24(1) requires the statement of the child to be recorded, as far as practicable, by a woman police officer not below the rank of sub-inspector, and Section 27(2) requires the medical examination of a girl child to be conducted by a woman doctor. These are protective measures for the child, not limits on who may be a victim.

The offender. The offences are framed as whoever, and the Act does not confine the offender to any sex.

§ Where the standard operates

• In the reporting stage. The police, on receiving information, must make arrangements for the care and protection of the child, and report the matter to the Child Welfare Committee so that the Committee may decide what the child needs.

• In the recording of the statement. Section 24 requires it to be recorded at the residence of the child or a place of the child's choice, as far as practicable by a woman officer not below the rank of sub-inspector, not in uniform, and not in a police station, with the child not detained in the police station at night.

• In the medical examination. Section 27 requires it to be conducted in the presence of the parent or another person in whom the child reposes trust, and by a woman doctor where the child is a girl.

• In the trial. Section 33 requires the Special Court to create a child-friendly atmosphere, to ensure that the child is not called repeatedly to testify, to permit frequent breaks, and to ensure that the child is not exposed in any way to the accused while testifying.

• And in the aftermath. The Act and the Rules provide for interim and final compensation, and for the child's continuing care, because the object is recovery and not merely conviction.

Section 19

Any person who apprehends that an offence is likely to be committed, or has knowledge that one has been committed, SHALL report it; and the police must record it and take steps for the child's care and protection

Section 21

FAILURE TO REPORT is itself an offence, with a higher penalty for a person in charge of a company or an institution in respect of a subordinate

Section 23

The MEDIA shall not disclose the identity of the child, including the name, address, photograph, family particulars, school, neighbourhood or any particular which may lead to disclosure

Section 24

The statement is recorded at the child's residence or place of choice, by a woman officer not below the rank of sub-inspector so far as practicable, NOT IN UNIFORM, and the child is not detained in a police station at night

Section 25

Where the statement is recorded by a Magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, he shall record it AS SPOKEN BY THE CHILD

Section 26

The statement is recorded in the presence of a person in whom the child has trust; the assistance of a translator, interpreter or special educator may be taken; and it may be recorded by AUDIO-VIDEO ELECTRONIC MEANS

Section 27

The medical examination is conducted even where no FIR has been registered, in the presence of the parent or a person the child trusts, and by a woman doctor where the child is a girl

Section 33

The Special Court creates a child-friendly atmosphere, permits a person the child trusts to be present, does not permit AGGRESSIVE QUESTIONING or character assassination, allows frequent breaks, and does not call the child repeatedly

Section 35

Evidence of the child to be recorded within THIRTY DAYS of the Special Court taking cognizance, and the trial completed, as far as possible, within ONE YEAR

Section 36

The child shall NOT SEE THE ACCUSED while testifying, and video conferencing, single visibility mirrors or curtains may be used

Section 37

The trial is conducted IN CAMERA, in the presence of the parents or a person the child trusts

Section 38

The assistance of a translator, interpreter, special educator or expert may be taken while recording evidence

§ The definition, and what follows from it

Child means any person below the age of eighteen years.

A single, fixed age. It does not vary with the offence, with the sex of the child, with marital status, or with any relationship between the child and the accused.

It fixes the boundary of the Act. Where the victim is eighteen or above, the Act does not apply at all, and the ordinary criminal law governs.

Age within the class still matters for punishment. After the 2019 Amendment, Section 4 prescribes a higher minimum sentence where the child is below sixteen, and Section 5 treats the age of the child as an aggravating circumstance in defined cases.

Determination of age is a question of fact, decided on the material available, and the approach taken under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 for determining age is commonly applied.

§ The definition inserted in 2019

Child pornography means any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child, which includes a photograph, video, digital or computer generated image indistinguishable from an actual child, and an image created, adapted or modified but appearing to depict a child.

Why it was inserted. Before 2019 the Act used the expression in Sections 13 to 15 without defining it, which left the reach of those offences uncertain, particularly for digitally created or altered material.

What the definition catches. It is not confined to photographs of a real child: a computer-generated image indistinguishable from a child, and an image of an adult modified to appear to be a child, are both within it.

A point of current importance. The Supreme Court has observed that the expression child pornography understates what the material is, and has recommended that it be replaced by child sexual exploitative and abuse material, the term used internationally, because the offence is a record of the abuse of a child and not a category of pornography.

2(1)(a)

Aggravated penetrative sexual assault

Has the meaning assigned in Section 5

2(1)(b)

Aggravated sexual assault

Has the meaning assigned in Section 9

2(1)(c)

Armed forces or security forces

Forces constituted under a Central or State Act, and referred to in the aggravation clauses

2(1)(d)

Child

Any person below the age of eighteen years

2(1)(da)

Child pornography

Inserted in 2019: any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child, including digitally created or modified images

2(1)(e)

Domestic relationship

The meaning assigned in the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, relevant to the aggravation clauses

2(1)(f)

Penetrative sexual assault

Has the meaning assigned in Section 3

2(1)(h)

Religious institution

The meaning assigned in the Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988

2(1)(i)

Sexual assault

Has the meaning assigned in Section 7

2(1)(j)

Sexual harassment

Has the meaning assigned in Section 11

2(1)(k)

Shared household

A household where the child lives or has lived in a domestic relationship with the accused

2(1)(l)

Special Court

A court designated as such under Section 28

2(1)(m)

Special Public Prosecutor

A prosecutor appointed under Section 32

§ Section 2(2): the borrowing clause

Words and expressions used and not defined in this Act but defined in the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Protection, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and the Information Technology Act, 2000 shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in those enactments.

Why it matters. The Act is short, and it does not repeat definitions already available elsewhere. Terms of general criminal law are taken from the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure; terms concerning the child's care from the Juvenile Justice Act; and terms concerning electronic material from the Information Technology Act.

The practical consequence. A question about the meaning of a term not defined in Section 2 is answered by looking to those four statutes, in that order of relevance to the context.