Скачать или смотреть 061. 1. POCSO Act & Age Determination: Supreme Court's Landmark Guidelines Explained

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In this powerful legal explainer by Indian Legal System, we delve into one of the most crucial yet often misunderstood elements of the POCSO Act — age determination of the victim or the accused. This video unpacks how Supreme Court judgments have clarified the legal mechanisms involved in verifying whether the victim is a minor and how failure to prove this can dismantle the entire prosecution.
Under the POCSO Act (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences), the threshold age is 18 years. But what happens if the prosecution fails to prove that the victim was a minor at the time of the alleged incident? That’s where this video becomes critical.
We explore the landmark judgment of P Yuvaprakash vs State (2023), where the Hon’ble Supreme Court laid out the burden of proof and the valid sources for age verification. This judgment is a game-changer for criminal defence strategy and explains in detail the legal requirements under Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and Section 34 of the POCSO Act.
📌 Key Points Covered in the Video:
• Supreme Court ruled that the process of age determination must be uniform — whether the child is a victim or accused.
• As per law, the court must rely on a three-tiered priority system for age proof:
1. School or educational certificates
2. Birth certificates from municipality/gram panchayat
3. Medical examination (Bone Age X-ray)
If these are absent or unreliable, the prosecution’s case weakens drastically.
• In P Yuvaprakash, the Supreme Court made it crystal clear that admission forms, transfer certificates, and oral claims about age are not admissible unless properly backed with documentary evidence or credible testimony from someone present at the time of birth — usually the mother.
• The burden of proving minority lies on the prosecution — and must be established beyond reasonable doubt. If this is not met, Sections 29 and 30 of the POCSO Act, which presume guilt, cannot be invoked.
This ruling has deep implications, especially for defence lawyers, as it shows how to legally dismantle false or weak POCSO cases. The video also reveals that in over 40-45% of POCSO FIRs, the age is neither documented through certificates nor confirmed via medical tests, which becomes a critical gap.
We also discuss how courts have treated situations where:
• The school principal claims that the age was entered by the mother without verification.
• The mother, under cross-examination, admits she doesn't remember the date of birth.
• Bone age testing was not conducted at all during investigation.
In such circumstances, the accused must be given the benefit of doubt, especially when the victim's age appears to be around the legal threshold of 18 years.
The Supreme Court emphasized that unless age is proven properly:
• POCSO charges collapse.
• Regular IPC sections may still apply, but the strict presumptions of POCSO (like mandatory punishment, reverse burden) won’t hold.
This video is a must-watch for legal professionals, law students, and anyone falsely entangled in POCSO litigation. Understanding this aspect could make the difference between wrongful conviction and rightful acquittal.
Additionally, we touch upon how the Indian Legal System is changing its fee model for cross-examinations — offering more accessible pricing based on case complexity. This ensures that no litigant is deprived of strong legal defence due to financial constraints.






REFERRED TO VIDEOS:

INQUIRY FOR AGE DETERMINATION UNDER POCSO ACT, PROCEDURE BY SUPREME COURT JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT POCSO
   • INQUIRY FOR AGE DETERMINATION UNDER POCSO ...  


011. MASTERING CROSS-EXAMINATION IN RAPE & POCSO ACT CASES: FSL REPORT & AGE DETERMINATION EXPLAINED
   • 011. MASTERING CROSS-EXAMINATION IN RAPE &...  


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