Of the over 1,000 cases of cybercrimes committed against children that were sent for trial, between 2017 and 2020, only six have resulted in a conviction and 98% are still pending in various courts. Moreover, only 27% of such cases were charge-sheeted. There has been a significant increase in the registration of such cases in recent years. In 2020, 1,102 cases of cybercrimes against children were reported, from only 88 cases in 2017. Cyber pornography/posting obscene sexual materials depicting children formed 67% of the total cybercrime cases against children in 2020. Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh were the two States where the most cases were reported according to the latest Crime Report by the NCRB
State-wise cases
The chart shows the number of cases of cybercrimes committed against children filed in 2020
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Slow wheels of justice
Of 1,727 cases investigated between 2017 and 2020, only 479 were chargesheeted. Of the 1,092 up for trial, only nine reached a verdict (6 convictions, 3 acquittals), with 1,080 cases pending in courts
Poor chargesheeting rate
The chargesheeting rate of cybercrime cases committed against children between 2017 and 2020 was 27%, much lower than the rate for similar crimes*. The chart depicts the chargesheeting rate of various crimes, which refers to the cases chargesheeted as a % of the cases reported
* for other crimes the chargesheeting rate is for the year 2020
Poor conviction rate
The conviction rate of cases involving cybercrimes committed against children between 2017 and 2020 was 0.5%, much lower than the rate for similar crimes*. The chart depicts the conviction rate of various crimes, which refers to the cases ending in conviction as a % of the cases which completed trial
Source: NCRB
Also read: Taking a byte out of cyber threats
