Section 21

Section 21 is the enforcement mechanism for the reporting obligation — it converts the duty to report under Section 19 into a legally enforceable obligation by criminalising non-reporting. Without Section 21, Section 19's mandatory reporting requirement would be aspirational rather than binding. **Three liability scenarios:** 1. *Individual failure to report* (Section 21(1)): Any person who fails to report under Section 19(1) — up to 6 months imprisonment and/or fine. This applies to any private individual: a neighbour, relative, family friend, or bystander who had knowledge or apprehension of abuse but failed to report. 2. *Institutional heads* (Section 21(2)): A person in charge of any company or institution who fails to report an offence committed against a subordinate under their control — up to 1 year imprisonment and/or fine. This directly targets school principals, ashram managers, children's home superintendents, and employers who knowingly ignore abuse of children under their care. 3. *Police failure to record* (Section 21(1) second limb): A police officer who 'fails to record' a report under Section 19(2) — up to 6 months and/or fine. This provision is significant: it means police who refuse to register POCSO complaints are personally criminally liable. **Child exemption (Section 21(3)):** The child who is the victim or a witness cannot be prosecuted under Section 21 for failing to report. This is an explicit protective provision — a child should never face criminal liability for failing to report their own abuse. **Bailable offence:** Section 21 is bailable — the punishment is imprisonment up to 1 year. This is appropriate given that the offence is an omission rather than an act of abuse. **Practical significance:** Section 21 has been invoked most frequently against institutional heads — school principals who dismissed abuse complaints, orphanage superintendents who concealed staff abuse, and police officers who refused to register POCSO FIRs.