Before Presumption Begins: Reverse Burdens, Procedural Uncertainty, And Constitutional Fair-Trial Limits Under Sections 29 And 30 Of The POCSO Act

Jasnoor Bajaj, Manipal University Jaipur ABSTRACT The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) was introduced to increase legal protection for children against child sexual offences, which take a childcentred approach to both procedural and substantive protections. The most important sections of the Act are Sections 29 and 30 which impose statutory presumptions of guilt and culpable mental state. Some of the provisions break from the basic tenets of modern criminal...