SUBMITTED BY: AYANTIKA DAS
STREAM: BBA-LLB(H)
DATE OF SUBMISSION: 15.02.24
TABLE OF CONTENT Do the police maintain the Constitution of India in POCSO cases?Do the police really register POCSO cases of street children? Do the police follow the same procedure of POCSO Act for the street children? Hypothesis – (1): According to Article 14 of the Indian constitution, The State shall not deny to any person(children) equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws.Hypothesis – (2): Article 15 of the constitution of India, State shall not discriminate against citizens(children) on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.Hypothesis – (3): Police should more about aware of right to be protected from being abused and forced by economic necessity to enter occupation unsuited to any children’s age or strength (Article 39(e)).Hypothesis- (4): In Article 45, the State is required to make every effort to provide early childhood care and education for all children until the age of fourteen.Hypothesis – (5): The police does not treat equally in between street children and privilege children. Specifically, in POCSO cases, the police must ensure that they respect and uphold the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, including the rights of the victim, and the principles of due process and fair trial. it’s must be the duty of police In POCSO cases, ensuring that justice is administered in a fair, transparent, and constitutional manner. Hypothesis – (1): Negligence of police towards street children is the main issueStreet children often unregistered complaints due to lack of parental care, Police are more serious when dealing with privilege children.POCSO Act, 2012 provisions apply to victims of privilege girls, Street girls often neglected in complaints.Hypothesis – (2): Police Registration Challenges in POCSO Cases involving Street Children- Police are mandated to register POCSO complaints, regardless of victim’s background.Challenges include lack of documentation, victim reluctance, and mistrust of authorities.Systemic issues and resource constraints may impact effectiveness and consistency. Hypothesis – (1): Police may not take reports of crimes against street children as seriously as those involving children from more privileged backgrounds. This can result in perpetrators not being held accountable and street children being denied access to justice.Hypothesis- (2): Discriminatory treatment: Police may engage in discriminatory practices or behaviour towards street children, such as harassment, verbal abuse, or wrongful arrest, based on stereotypes or biases.Hypothesis – (3): Section 19 and 24 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, stipulates that police officers must follow specific procedures when reporting an offense and recording a child’s statement, which is not be following on street children due to their lack of parental support. https://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/India4.htmfile:///C:/Users/dasay/Downloads/Responsibilities.pdffile:///C:/Users/dasay/Downloads/IJPUB1801224.pdffile:///C:/Users/dasay/Downloads/The_Protection_of_Children_from_Sexual_Offences_Act__2012_ijariie17522.pdfhttps://www.refworld.org/reference/countryrep/hrw/1996/en/36325https://www.rethink.org/advice-and-information/rights-restrictions/police-courts-and-prison/complaints-about-the-police/https://www.streetchildren.org/news-and-updates/making-police-child-friendly/https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/dont-delay-identification-rehabilitation-of-street-children-supreme-court-directs-states-189692https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/stopped-from-playing-kids-knock-on-police-doors/articleshow/48850802.cmshttps://mphc.gov.in/PDF/JuvenileJustice/j4-060314.pdfhttps://www.leadindia.law/blog/en/legal-consequences-for-police-officers-in-pocso-cases/#:~:text=The%20Police%20officers%20working%20on,could%20have%20serious%20legal%20repercussions.https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/police-now-have-equal-focus-on-rehabilitation-of-victims-under-pocso-act/article65615682.ece The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012Offences Against Child and Juvenile Offences – Dr S. K. CHATTERJEE
ABSTRACTThe Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 establishes Special Juvenile Police Units to protect children, but negligence exists in treating privileged children differently and disregarding POCSO Act 2012. India has the world’s largest street child population, with 18 million children working in urban areas. They often face illegal detention, beating, torture, and death by police due to factors like police perceptions, corruption, violence, insufficient legal safeguards, and impunity. Young, immature, and poor children make them easy targets, making it easy to detain and beat them for confession.Police negligence towards street children is a significant issue, with street children often not reporting conflicts due to lack of guardians. Unlike privileged children, police are more serious about their issues, especially when a street girl child is a victim, disregarding their complaints. Police in India often neglect the rights of privilege children due to fear of the law. Street girls are often targeted for neglect, as they lack support. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 requires equal treatment for every child. Street children often face abuse and fear of police, highlighting the police’s failure to uphold Indian law.The POCSO Act, 2012, has significantly contributed to child abuse cases in India, recognizing various forms of sexual abuse. However, challenges remain for the police department. Street children suffering from sexual abuse need psychological support and counselling, even from police. Society must adopt a holistic approach to street child abuse cases, as they are the most under-reported offenses in India. Police should treat children with kindness to avoid pressure and maintain a positive relationship with them.KEYWORDSPOCSO Act, The Juvenile Justice Act, Special Juvenile Police Units, Street Child, Police Negligence, Indian Law, Sexual Abuse, Positive RelationshipINTRODUCTIONThe Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 mandates the establishment of Special Juvenile Police Units (SJPU) in each state to protect children in need of care or in conflict with the law. Child-friendly procedures in police stations ensure a safe environment for children to communicate and receive proper care, especially during crisis. These stations also encourage children to report crimes and handle alleged offenses based on their age. But there is a lot of negligence how police treat a privileged child differently from a street child. And also, the police do not care about the POCSO Act 2012, in case of protection of street children from sexual offences.India has the largest population of street children in the world. At least eighteen million children live or work on the streets of urban India, labouring as porters at bus or railway terminals; as mechanics in informal auto-repair shops; as vendors of food, tea, or handmade articles; as street tailors; picking through garbage and selling usable materials to local buyers.These children often face illegal detention, beating, torture, and even death by police. Factors contributing to this issue include police perceptions of street children, widespread corruption, a culture of police violence, inadequacy of legal safeguards, and the impunity of law enforcement officials. Police view street children as vagrants and criminals, often assuming they are involved in crimes or know the culprit. This abuse violates Indian domestic law. Street children are also easy targets due to their young age, immaturity, poverty, ignorance of their rights, and lack of family support. Detaining and beating a child for confession is quick and easy, and they are unlikely to register formal complaints.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:‘Negligence of Police towards street children’Negligence of police towards street children is a big issue nowadays. When a street child faces any kind of conflict in our society, the police don’t registered complaint from any street children because they don’t have parents or any guardian by their side. But in other side when a privileged child is in trouble then the police are more serious about their issues. Especially when privileged girl child is victim in any case then the police are maintaining according to provisions of the POCSO Act, 2012 but when street girl child are victim of any case the police are neglect the complaint of the street girl child. May be the reason behind the non-negligence of privilege child is the fear of the Indian law, if the police are not following the rules and regulation of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act,2012 they face many consequences from the guardians of the children, but in case of any street girl child they are easy target to neglect the cases from them because no one comes to stand beside them. The police should maintain the Constitution of India, every child should be treated equal before the law. In many situations, street children are abused by police. Because of all these reasons street children hesitant to file a case and even they are afraid to go any police station. The duty of the police is to comfort the children and take special care of them but in this case the police really don’t care about the Indian law. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
