Goa, Aug. 19 -- The Karnataka High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by a 52-year-old woman seeking to quash sexual assault charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The case, filed by the parents of a 13-year-old boy, alleged that the woman sexually abused him in 2020 when their families lived in the same residential community in Bengaluru.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna, while refusing to halt the proceedings, ruled that the provisions of the POCSO Act are gender-neutral and apply equally to men and women. "The POCSO Act, being a progressive enactment, is intended to safeguard the sanctity of childhood. It is rooted in gender neutrality, with its beneficent object being the protection of children, irr...