Cabinet has approved amendments to the POCSO Act to make punishment more stringent for committing sexual crimes against children.

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said children should be protected from sexual offences and the Cabinet has approved amendments to various sections of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act to achieve this.

Addressing mediapersons after a Cabinet meeting, Mr Prasad said the amendments to sections 4, 5, 6, 9, 14, 15 and 42 of the POCSO Act, 2012, are made to address child sexual abuse in an appropriate manner. An official statement said sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Act are proposed to be amended to provide the option of stringent punishment, including the death penalty, for committing aggravated penetrative sexual assault on a child.

The amendments are also proposed in section-9 to protect children from sexual offences in times of natural calamities and disasters.

Sections 14 and 15 of the POCSO Act, 2012 are also proposed to be amended to address the menace of the child pornography.

(Featured image : The Pioneer)