Delhi High Court held that S. 198 (1) and 198 (3) CrPC are overridden by the mandatory reporting requirements under POCSO

POCSO Act Section 19, read with Section 21, overrides the restrictions imposed under CrPC.

The court held that the child victim can’t be differentiated between married and those who are not married. The court stated that when general law and special law deal with the same aspect of the law, special law prevails over the general law. The POCSO Act will have an overriding effect if there is any inconsistency.

Also, the court observed that the trial courts within their powers can extend the limitation under their discretion if the child victim is not able to file the complaint within time.

Case: Independent Thought V. Union Of India & Anr.

 

Source: https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/delhi-high-court/delhi-high-court-pocso-act-mandatory-reporting-228207