The government does not yet have a plan to revise the age of consent under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 despite appeals from the judiciary to lower it from the current 18 years to 16 years.
In response to a question from Communist Party of India MP Binoy Vishwam in the Rajya Sabha on whether the government was considering any proposal to lower the age of consent from 18 years to 16 years in order to prevent the criminalisation of consensual relationships between adolescents, the Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani replied, “Does not arise.”
In her written response, the Minister added, “The Act clearly defines a child as any person below the age of 18 years. The POCSO Act provides punishment as per the gravity of offence. The Act was further amended in 2019 to introduce more stringent punishment including death penalty for committing sexual crimes on children, with a view to deter the perpetrators & prevent such crimes against children.”
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Ms. Irani also told the Rajya Sabha that the Majority Act, 1875 provided 18 years as the age for attainment of majority. She said that where an offence under the POCSO Act was commissioned by a child, Section 34 provided procedures for determining the age of the accused.
Appeal by judges
Earlier this month, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud appealed to Parliament, saying it must relook at the issue of age of consent, as cases involving consensual sexual relationships among adolescents posed “difficult questions for judges across the spectrum”. There was a “growing concern” on this issue, he added. He also pointed out that the peculiar challenge posed by POCSO was that it criminalises all sexual activities for those under the age of 18 years even if consent was factually present between two minors.
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The Madras High Court recently said that it is “eagerly” waiting for the legislature to reduce the age of consent under the POCSO Act from the current 18 years, as it upheld the conviction of a man sentenced to seven years imprisonment for having kidnapped and repeatedly raped a 17-year-old girl. The Karnataka High Court too recently said that the Law Commission must look at the issue, while rejecting a plea against the acquittal of a boy who was accused of rape under POCSO after eloping with a 17-year-old girl and having a sexual relationship with her in 2017.
A recent study by Enfold Proactive Health Trust, which analysed 1,715 “romantic cases” under the POCSO Act found that one in four cases registered and disposed of under the Act was a “romantic case” involving adolescents whose parents were opposed to the relationship. It found that 80.2% of such cases were filed by parents or relatives of the girl, while in 87.9% of cases the girls expressly admitted to being in a consensual relationship.
