CHENNAI: As many as 66 people accused in Pocso Act cases registered by Greater Chennai Police (GCP) were sentenced to various jail terms by trial courts in 2025.
In April last year, the MKB Nagar all women police station (AWPS) secured life imprisonment for an accused in a 2015 case, in which a 12-year-old was kidnapped and sexually assaulted. Koyambedu and Mylapore AWPS, too, secured sentencing of more than 20 years, an official release said.
Special attention is given to complaints under the Pocso Act and follow-up during trial at special courts, the city police said. Personnel from the Crime against Women and Children (CAWC) wing and AWPS personnel undergo regular workshops to educate themselves on the nuances of investigation involving child sexual assault, city police said.
In December 2025, a panel of experts comprising members from the Juvenile Justice Board, medical and forensic experts, conducted a workshop for city police officers on topics such as Intersection of Child Protection Services Involvement in Pocso Act, 2012, and JJ Act, 2015, Bridging Tech, Law and Reality - Investigating Child Sexual Abuse in the Cyber Era, among others.
City police officers are sensitised regularly about appropriate methods of handling Pocso cases, investigation techniques, proper documentation of case dairies, clarity on the do's and don'ts in Pocso and juvenile-related cases, as well as awareness on protection, rehabilitation, and government welfare schemes for children, according to officials.
Protection order issued for 23 women
The city police made use of the 2025 amendment to the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women (TNPHW) Act to facilitate the issuance of protection order to 23 women.
According to Section 7-C, which was included in the TNPHW Act in January 2025, the executive magistrate can pass a protection order prohibiting the accused from attempting to communicate with the aggrieved person in any form whatsoever, including personal, oral, written, electronic, or telephonic contact or through third parties.
"A breach of Protection Order by the accused shall be an offence under this Act and shall be punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and with a fine, which may extend to one lakh rupees," the Act says.