Supreme Court: When Conviction Is Under Both Pocso Act And Ipc, Offender Liable To Be Sentenced Under Provision Prescribing Higher Punishment

The Supreme Court in the case Gyanendra Singh @ Raja Singh Versus State Of U.P observed and has clarified that when a person is convicted for an offence under both the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, POCSO Act and the rape provisions of the IPC, Section 42 of the POCSO Act mandates the imposition of the higher degree of punishment prescribed either under the POCSO Act or Indian Penal Code, IPC.

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The court in the case stated that no petition filed for a lesser punishment under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, POCSO Act can be entertained if the Indian Penal Code, IPC prescribes a higher punishment for certain offences by arguing that Section 42A, as a special law, overrides the IPC, which is considered a general law.

The court observed that section 42 of the Indian Penal Code, IPC deals with the quantum of punishment mandating that when a particular act or omission constitutes an offence, both under the POCSO Act and also under the provisions of the IPC or the Information Technology Act, 2000 then, thus, the offender found guilty of the offence would be liable to punishment under the POCSO Act or under the provisions of the IPC whichever provides a punishment of a greater degree.

On the other hand, the section 42A of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, POCSO Act deals with the procedural aspects and gives an overriding effect to the provisions of the POCSO Act over any other law for the time being in force where the two acts are inconsistent with each other. Hence, the provisions of Section 42A of POSCO Act, by no stretch of imagination, can be interpreted so as to override the scope and ambit of enabling provision, i.e., Section 42 of POCSO Act.

The bench comprising of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta was hearing the present matter.