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Section21
POCSO Act, 2012

Section 21

In force Act 32 of 2012 As on 22 Oct 2026

Read from the scanned gazette. India Code publishes no text for this Act, so the text below was read from the Government's own scan by machine and split into sections by its numbering. It has not been checked against the page word by word. Where it matters, read the scan. Read the scan.

Act 32 of 2012

This is a second copy of a Central Act. India Code files it on Punjab's shelf as well as under Parliament, and the text is the same enactment. Read it at The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, which is the record this site keeps current.

Read from the scanned gazette. India Code publishes no text for this Act, so this text was read from the Government's own scan by machine and split into sections by its numbering. It has not been checked against the page word by word. Where it matters, read the scan. Read the scan.

Section 21 of POCSO Act, 2012. (/) Any person, who fails to report the commission of an offence under sub-section (/) of section 19 or section 20 or who fails to record such offence under sub-section (2) of section 19 shall be punished with imprisonment of either description which may extend to six months or with fine or with bot

(/) Any person, who fails to report the commission of an offence under sub-section (/) of section 19 or section 20 or who fails to record such offence under sub-section (2) of section 19 shall be punished with imprisonment of either description which may extend to six months or with fine or with both (2) Any person, being in-charge of any company or an institution (by whatever name called) who fails to report the commission of an offence under sub-section (/) of section 19 in respect of a subordinate under his control, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and with fine. Punishment Bor false complaint of falve information (3) The provisions of sub-section (/) shall not apply to a child under this Act.

Section 21, POCSO Act, 2012 (Act 32 of 2012).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

This section refers to

  1. s. 19
  2. s. 20

Questions about Section 21

How do I find court cases under Section 21 of the POCSO Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Pocso Act 2012 21, section 21 Pocso Act 2012, section 21 of the POCSO Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.

What should I read with Section 21 of the POCSO Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 19, section 20, so none of them can safely be read on its own.

When was the POCSO Act enacted?

POCSO Act was enacted in 2012 as Act 32 of 2012. India Code records no commencement date for it. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Read from the Government's own scanned gazette with Azure Document Intelligence, then split into sections by their numbering. India Code publishes no text for this Act. The scan itself is mirrored into our own storage and served at /scan/6c9960d1-f7f5-4359-89f1-04097ea24cdd.pdf, so the reading here can be checked against the page it came from without depending on India Code's own copy staying where it is (it was at https://indiacode.gov.in/server/api/core/bitstreams/b50651ca-258b-40ee-9d2f-ca4dd4ea559e/content). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.