The Supreme Court recently issued notice on a plea filed by a woman accused of sexually assaulting a minor boy, in which she has challenged the applicability of provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 to female accused.

Senior advocate Hashmath Pasha , appearing for the petitioner Archana Patil, submitted that Sections 3(1)(a) to 3(1)(c) of the POCSO Act are gender specific and have no application to the case of the petitioner.

Recording the submission, a bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma ordered, “ Issue notice. In the meantime, further proceedings before the Trial Court shall remain stayed .”

Sections 3(1)(a) to 3(1)(c) define penetrative sexual assault against children and refer to the perpetrator using the prono

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