Pranil Gupta v. State of Sikkim
Sikkim High CourtMANU/SI/0035/2015Bench: J. Meenakshi Madan Rai
The Sikkim High Court rejected the defence of ignorance of age categorically. The Court held that POCSO creates strict liability regarding the victim's age. Under Section 2(d) POCSO, a "child" means any person below 18 years. The accused has a duty to ascertain the age of the person before any intimate contact. The Act does not provide for any defence of mistake of fact regarding age (unlike some foreign jurisdictions). The presumption of the Act is that every person is presumed to know the age of those they come in contact with. Conviction was upheld.