MP High Court Asks Centre to Lower Age of Consent to 16
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has urged the central government to reduce the age of sexual consent from 18 to 16 years. The court highlighted that the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, which raised the age of consent, has caused societal disturbances and led to injustices for adolescent boys.
Justice Deepak Kumar Agarwal was hearing a plea to quash a case against a 23-year-old man accused of raping a minor girl he was coaching. The victim claimed the accused gave her juice that rendered her unconscious. The man faced charges under the rape laws, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, and the Information Technology (IT) Act.
On June 27, the court ordered the FIR to be quashed. Justice Agarwal noted, “Generally, girls and boys of adolescent age develop friendships and, due to attraction, engage in physical relationships. However, the current law treats the boy as a criminal, leading to widespread injustice for adolescent boys. I urge the Government of India to consider reducing the age of consent from 18 to 16 years, as it was before the amendments, to address this injustice.”
The court observed that adolescents are reaching puberty earlier due to social media exposure and are entering into consensual sexual relationships before adulthood.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that there was a seven-month delay in filing the FIR and that any intercourse was consensual. The state’s lawyer contended that despite the delay, the prosecutrix was a minor at the time of the incident.
The court dismissed the case, stating, “Nowadays, adolescents, due to social media and internet access, reach puberty earlier. As a result, they develop attractions leading to consensual physical relationships. These young males should not be considered criminals merely due to their age when engaging in consensual relationships.”
This ruling highlights the need to revisit the age of consent laws to reflect the current societal context and mitigate injustices faced by young boys.
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