Definitions
Section 2 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 deals with definitions. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -- (a) "aggravated penetrative sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 5; The Act came into force on 14 Nov 2012.
(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, --
(a) "aggravated penetrative sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 5;
(b) "aggravated sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 9;
(c) "armed forces or security forces" means armed forces of the Union or security forces or police forces, as specified in the Schedule;
(d) "child" means any person below the age of eighteen years;
1[(da) "child pornography" means any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child which include photograph, video, digital or computer generated image indistinguishable from an actual child and image created, adapted, or modified, but appear to depict a child;]
(e) "domestic relationship" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (f) of section 2 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (43 of 2005);
(f) "penetrative sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 3;
(g) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(h) "religious institution" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in the Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988 (41 of 1988).
(i) "sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 7;
(j) "sexual harassment" has the same meaning as assigned to it in section 11;
(k) "shared household" means a household where the person charged with the offence lives or has lived at any time in a domestic relationship with the child;
(l) "Special Court" means a court designated as such under section 28;
(m) "Special Public Prosecutor" means a Public Prosecutor appointed under section 32.
(2) The words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), 2[the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (2 of 2016)] and the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000) shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the said Codes or the Acts.
Section 2, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences 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
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Ms. Eera through Dr. Manjula Krippendorf v. State (NCT of Delhi)
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Judgement of Main Case order-29.pdf 2017-07-21 labelled (order-30 same date is ROP). Crl.A. 1217-1219/2017 (SLP(Crl) 2640-2642/2016). Dipak Misra J. REPORTABLE. DATE-CHECK false positive on High Court / trial-court fact dates (2015-06-15 / 2014-09-15); body is the named 21 Jul 2017 POCSO 2(d) merits (same Ghisalal/Patil/Kymal pattern). Isolate: s.2(d) 'child' means a person below 18 years of biological age; mental age / intellectual disability cannot be read into the definition. Do not pad s.5(k) (aggravated assault on a child with disability — still requires a child) or ss.28/33/35 (forum/procedure recited, not the holding). Case later abated on the accused's death; the legal issue was still decided.
On this section: POCSO s.2(d) 'child' means any person below 18 years of biological age; mental age or intellectual disability cannot be read into the definition (Eera).
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 2
What have the courts held on Section 2 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act?
Ms. Eera through Dr. Manjula Krippendorf v. State (NCT of Delhi) (21 Jul 2017) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: POCSO s.2(d) 'child' means any person below 18 years of biological age; mental age or intellectual disability cannot be read into the definition (Eera).
How do I find court cases under Section 2 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences 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 2, section 2 Pocso Act, section 2 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Ms. Eera through Dr. Manjula Krippendorf v. State (NCT of Delhi) (21 Jul 2017).
What should I read with Section 2 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2 (Definitions), section 3 (Penetrative sexual assault), section 5 (Aggravated penetrative sexual assault), section 7 (Sexual assault), and on 4 further provisions, so none of them can safely be read on its own.
When did Section 2 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act come into force?
Section 2 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, cited as Pocso Act 2, came into force on 14 Nov 2012, having been enacted on 19 Jun 2012. 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. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.