The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently urged the central government to lower the age of sexual consent from 18 to 16. The court argued that the current age limit, set by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, has created “injustice” for adolescent boys.
Justice Deepak Kumar Agarwal made this request while reviewing a case involving a 23-year-old man accused of raping a minor he was coaching. The victim claimed that the accused gave her juice that made her unconscious. The man faced multiple charges, including rape under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act. The court has since quashed the FIR against him.
Justice Agarwal noted that teenage boys and girls often develop friendships that lead to physical relationships. However, due to current laws, boys are frequently treated as criminals in such cases. He stated, “Today, many criminal cases involve individuals under 18 due to this legal anomaly, leading to unfair treatment of adolescent boys. I urge the Government of India to consider reducing the age of consent from 18 to 16, as it was before the amendments, to address this injustice.”
The court also observed that social media and early puberty are causing adolescents to enter consensual relationships at younger ages. The petitioner’s lawyer had argued that there was a significant delay in filing the FIR and that any sexual activity was consensual. The state lawyer requested the case be dismissed, noting that while the FIR was delayed, the victim was a minor at the time.
The court concluded that social media and early puberty are influencing young people’s relationships, and that current laws may not reflect these changes accurately. The case was dismissed based on these considerations.
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