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Section3
POCSO Act, 2012

Section 3

In force Act 32 of 2012 As on 19 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 Cited by 7 provisions

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 3 of POCSO Act, 2012. A person is said to commit "penetrative sexual assault" if -- (a) he penetrates his penis, to any extent, into the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus of a child or makes the child to do so with him or any other person: or (b) he inserts, to any extent, any object or a part of the body.

A person is said to commit "penetrative sexual assault" if -- (a) he penetrates his penis, to any extent, into the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus of a child or makes the child to do so with him or any other person: or (b) he inserts, to any extent, any object or a part of the body. not being the penis. into the vagina, the urethra or anus of the child or makes the child to do so with him or any other person; or Sec. 1] (c) he manipulates any part of the body of the child so as to cause penetration into the vagina, urethra, anus or any part of body of the child or makes the child to do so with him or any other person; or (d) he applies his mouth to the penis, vagina, anus, urethra of the child or makes the child to do so to such person or any other person.

Section 3, 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.

Referred to by 7

  1. s. 2
  2. s. 14
  3. s. 22
  4. s. 29
  5. s. 40
  6. s. 41
  7. s. 44

Questions about Section 3

How do I find court cases under Section 3 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 3, section 3 Pocso Act 2012, section 3 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 3 of the POCSO Act, and has it changed?

7 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.

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.