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Section 43: Public awareness on Act

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
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Act 2012
Section 42 All 46 Sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 Section 44

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 43

Section 43 of the POCSO Act imposes a mandatory affirmative duty upon the Central and State Governments to give wide publicity to the provisions of the Act through public media, school curricula, and institutional training to prevent child sexual abuse.

  • Statutory Dissemination Mandate: Central and State Governments must take all necessary measures to ensure wide publicity of the Act via television, radio, print, and digital media at regular intervals.
  • Target Audiences: Explicitly targets the general public, children, parents, teachers, and guardians to create awareness regarding child rights, safe touch, reporting obligations, and penal consequences.
  • Institutional Capacity Building: Requires governments to impart specialized training to police officers, prosecutors, judicial officers, prison staff, and healthcare personnel handling POCSO cases.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Alakh Alok Srivastava v. Union of India (2018) 16 SCC 677: The Supreme Court directed the Union of India and State Governments to implement Section 43 proactively by broadcasting child protection campaigns in local languages across all public and private media channels.
  • Sampurna Behrua v. Union of India (2018) 4 SCC 433: The Supreme Court reiterated that public awareness under Section 43 is essential to dismantle social taboos and empower children and school administrations to report abuse without fear of stigma.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In public interest litigation (PIL) and institutional compliance matters, rely on Section 43 to demand state budgets for school-based child safety training. In defense practice, explore whether administrative failures under Section 43 contributed to delayed reporting or lack of prompt medical examination.

Section 42 All 46 Sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 Section 44