PASIGHAT, 27 Jul: A woman was on Wednesday convicted for misusing the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act here in East Siang district.
She was convicted under Section 22 of the POCSO Act for making her minor sister file a false case of rape against her own husband in the court of POCSO Judge Tageng Padoh.
The woman, identified as Yabom Chiram, has been sentenced to a month-long imprisonment, and a fine of Rs 20,000 has been imposed on her “for making and conspiring a false case against her own husband, misusing the POCSO Act and also the authority of the law to act upon her false information.”
Pronouncing the judgment, the special judge said: “The object of the law is very clear that the POCSO Act is not to be misused by any person.”
The special judge said also that “the convicted accused had alternative remedy to address the domestic violence committed by the accused, but the same was not resorted to. Rather, the authority of the law and the executing agency of the law have been misguided and misused by the accused to take cognisance of the offence against an innocent person, which is not the object of legislating the POCSO Act.”
“The provision of Section 22 of the POCSO Act has been incorporated to act as a deterrent to any person intending to misuse the Act,” the judge said. (DIPRO)