Article
A Socio-Legal Study on Cyber Offences Against Children in Delhi with Special Reference to Online Grooming
As we strive to increase the quality of digital infrastructure, so do the number of children avail the Internet and the number of cybercrimes victimizing these children is also growing at a proportional rate especially in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Online grooming is one of the most subtle of the offences in which a predator creates a relationship of emotional trust with a child, through the internet, to sexually exploit the child. This paper presents the findings of the socio-legal study conducted on the crime menace of children in Delhi and its specific focus on cybercrime especially grooming of children on internet. Based on the available information flow in the National Crime Records Bureau as well as the judicial view and the various available scholarly materials, it examines the statutory provisions, which consist of: Information Technology Act, 2000, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and lastly, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. It argues that though the Indian law has been empowered over the years, enforcement is still severely lacking and socio-cultural reasons further prevent the effort from ever succeeding to bring an end to enslaved groomers, particularly in the capital, Delhi, where over-Broward internet connection, digital illiteracy to caregivers, and lack of reporting make its easy functioning with impunity. Combining clarity in legislation, digital up-skilling and specialised investigation forces to fight grooming as a separate crime in a multi-faceted approach are suggested by the paper.