Bill to toughen Pocso Act gets Cabinet nod

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a bill that seeks to toughen the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act by proposing enhanced punishment for offenders, including death penalty for the guilty in cases of aggravated sexual assault against a minor girl or boy.
The bill, to be re-introduced in the current session, seeks to align POSCO Act with the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2018 which provides for stiffer punishment of even death for rape crimes involving a girl below 12 years of age.
The Cabinet also cleared another important legislation, Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, to be re-introduced in Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to allow a person the right to choose to be identified as a man, woman or transgender, irrespective of sex reassignment surgery or hormonal therapy.
The bill prohibits discrimination against a transgender person in areas like education, employment and healthcare. Offences like compelling a transgender person to beg, denial of access to a public place and physical and sexual abuse etc would attract up to two years’ imprisonment.
The proposed amendments in POCSO Act also seek to bring in stringent checks to prevent use of children for pornography online and circulation of such material.