Educate School Children About The Sexual Offences: Says Kerala Hc

CASE: Anoop v. State of Kerala & Ors. 2022 (Ker) 271

Shubhi Rathore | Prabhat Bandhulya

Justice B.K. Thomas while hearing a bail application made an observation that, irrespective of gender there has been an alarming rise in the cases of sexual offences against school children, who indulge in such activities unaware of the consequences that they will have to face under Indian Penal Code and POCSO. The Court also expressed its disappointment over the laws as they fail to differentiate between rape and relationships that went beyond platonic love, and the consequences that the laws have can snuff out the meaningful life that an individual has. Therefore, the Court ordered that awareness must be created at school level so that young children have knowledge about the acts that they indulge in and its consequences, as prevention is better than cure. So, it's time that Courts come up with guidelines and provide methods to spread awareness about the same.