The Punjab & Haryana High Court ruled that anyone aware of a child sexual offence under the POCSO Act must report it to police or Special Juvenile Police Unit, regardless of their relationship with the child. In a case where a mother failed to report her son’s harassment, the court refused to quash an application to add her as an accused, citing the Act’s mandatory reporting provision. The court rejected her defense of informing the school, emphasizing statutory law over school policy. This ruling arose from a case where a Class X student’s suicide note blamed school authorities for ignoring his harassment. The mother filed an FIR against the school officials. The Principal applied to add the mother as an accused for not reporting the harassment. The court upheld the application’s validity, leaving it to the trial court to decide. The judge highlighted the need for the trial court to assess if the evidence against the mother warranted prosecution. Consequently, the plea was dismissed.