Section 23 of Pocso Act

BENGALURU: After a rash of sexual assault cases on campus came to the fore, police have booked 180 government and private schools in Bengaluru for failing to comply with child safety guidelines.The Karnataka government had issued the guidelines to schools following a spurt in assaults on children in the past couple of months. The Karnataka high court recently directed the government, city police and schools to strictly implement the safety measures.Home minister KJ George told reporters here on Monday that 161 of the schools booked are private and the rest government-run ones.The cases will be booked under IPC Section 188, which empowers the police commissioner or a public servant to enforce a government order on a person, institution or management. Non-compliance attracts up to one-month jail term or a fine which may extend to Rs 200 or both.Some schools have sought time to implement the guidelines, saying surveillance units are expensive. "Installation of CCTVs cameras is non-negotiable. The court has directed us to implement the guidelines. We cannot compromise (on children's safety) even if the school is facing a financial crunch," George said.The minister said the guidelines, applicable to Bengaluru now, will soon be extended to rest of the state.The home department will take up an awareness campaign on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso), 2012.No person shall make any report or present comments on any child in any form of media or studio or photographic facilities without having complete and authentic information, which may have the effect of lowering his reputation or infringing upon his privacy. No reports in any media shall disclose, the identity of a child including his/her name, address, photograph, family details, school, neighbourhood or any other particulars which may lead to disclosure of identity of the child.The publisher or owner of the media or studio or photographic facilities shall be jointly and severally liable for the acts and omissions of his employee. Any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-sections shall be liable to be punished with imprisonment of either description for a period which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to one year or with fine or with both.Penal to look into acquittal of cases: The government has constituted a committee headed by ADGP (crime and technical services) NS Megharikh to look into the reasons for acquittals. "Persons involved in sensitive cases are also being acquitted. The government wants to know the reasons. So, a committee headed by the ADGP has been constituted to strengthen the system," George said.