Teenage Love On Trial : Consent, Crime And The Shadow Of POCSO

Bikramjit Singh , Dr. Param Jeet Singh

POCSO, consensual sexual relationships, teenage love, minor, adolescent, protective legislation, harsh penalities.

The former Chief Justice of India, D. Y. Chandrachud, heard a public interest litigation in August, 2023. It laid emphasis on the decriminalization of the consensual teenage sexual relationships, with special reference to the introduction of the "Romeo-Juliet Law". Romeo and Juliet are the two main characters from William Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet", which is a tragic love story between two teenage lovers. Renowned amicus curiae and senior advocate, Ms. Indira Jaisingh, who has been assisting the court in the "Nipun Saxena vs Union of India", raised an urge that the statutory age of consent should be reduced from 18 to 16 years in order to prevent "the blanket criminalization of sexual activity pertaining to the adolescents".[ The Hindu, "Bring down age of consent from 18 to 16 years, Supreme Court told", Available at : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bring-down-age-of-consent-from-18-to-16-years-supreme-court-told/article69850501.ece (Last updated on July 24, 2025)] Also, it is pertinent to note that the Madras High Court in the year 2019 suggested that the definition of "child" under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, must be amended. The persons who are below the age of 16 years (currently being 18 years) must be brought within the ambit of the definition of "child" in order to prevent the misuse of this protective legislation and to deal with the actual rape cases rather than burdening the courts with the cases involving consensual sexual relationships. For this, the said High Court also suggested that a close-in-age exemption clause (based on the Romeo-Juliet Law) must be introduced in India which has been already introduced in many other countries since 2007.

Volume 13 Issue 8, August-2025

Pages : h529-h534