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Persons with the mental age of a child do not fall within the purview of POCSO, holds SC
In the case of Eera v State of NCT of Delhi, the Supreme Court has held that an adult person with the mental age of a child cannot be treated as a victim under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. In this case, the victim/ survivor aged 38 years had the mental age of a 6-8 year old child, and it was argued that the person accused of physically assaulting her must also be booked under POCSO Act, not only to recognize the severity of the offence committed by him, but also to ensure that the provisions of child-friendly procedural safeguards could be utilized by her, and to enable her to seek compensation under the POCSO Act. This appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court on the ground that the language of the Act was clear, and its scope could not be unduly widened by the Court, as that would amount to judicial legislation.
Eera v. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi), 2017 SCC Online SC 787, 21-07-2017