Age of consent, marriage and the POCSO Act
Published on: 15 October 2023, 02:58 pm
The law on age of consent in India is constantly under flux but is yet to achieve an equitable balance.
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THE Law Commission of India, in its 283rd report, has ruled out the reduction in age of consent prescribed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
The report suggests that reducing the age of consent from 18 years to 16 years can be problematic in many ways; considering the fact that it would defeat the very objective of the POCSO Act. The report also says reducing the age of consent will lead to rise in 'child marriages' since the Protection of Child Marriage Act, 2005 is weak law and silent over age of consent and sexual relation with a minor, and the POCSO Act fills this void.
The report adds that children in the age group 15–18 years are the most vulnerable section in the age of the internet, and especially girl children are highly prone to grooming and manipulation in the digital age.
The report also says that reduction in the age of consent would lead to child trafficking and prostitution, which is an age-old plague of our society.
“Broadly, the court opined that the POCSO Act was brought forth to combat sexual exploitation of children and was never meant to criminalise consensual sexual intercourse amongst adolescents.
What the Law Commission has pointed out is of great concern but at the same time it creates deep conflict with many judgments that have come out of different high courts from time to time.
On July 10, a judgment by Bombay High Court exculpated a man convicted under the POCSO Act for raping a minor girl in 2016. The ground on which the high court judgment relied is worthy of consideration. As per the facts and evidence and from their personal claim, the accused, a 25-year-old man in 2016, and the person he was in a relationship with, a 17-year-old girl at that time, were in a consensual relationship.