The Legislature In Its Wisdom Has Conferred Precedence On The POCSO Act Above The Atrocity Act: Gujarat HC

The Gujarat High Court ruled that the comparative analysis of provisions of both the Acts [Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 & The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012] leads to the sole conclusion – that the legislature in its wisdom has conferred precedence on the POCSO Act above the Atrocity Act. Notably, in the present matter, the Bench of Justice A. S. Supehia was confronted with the issue of maintainability of the an application filed under section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 instead of an appeal under section 14-A(2) of the Scheduled Castes and Schedules Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.