Rethinking Age of Consent: A Call for Legal Reform
Senior advocate Indira Jaising urges the Supreme Court to lower the statutory age of consent from 18 to 16, citing constitutional rights and international norms. She argues current laws criminalize consensual adolescent relationships under POCSO, calling for legislative adjustments to distinguish between abuse and consensual acts.
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- India
In a significant legal development, senior advocate Indira Jaising has called upon the Supreme Court to reconsider the statutory age of consent, suggesting it be lowered from 18 to 16 years. Jaising, acting as amicus curiae in a pivotal case, contests the blanket criminalization under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012.
Jaising argues that the existing law unjustly groups consensual relationships among adolescents with abuse, thus infringing upon their constitutional rights. She emphasizes that empirical data does not support the heightened age of consent, which was increased without proper discourse, contrary to the Justice Verma Committee's recommendation.
Pointing to a 180 percent increase in POCSO prosecutions involving 16-18 year olds, Jaising highlights that most cases are filed by parents against inter-caste or inter-faith relationships. The senior advocate stresses the need for a 'close-in-age' exemption to safeguard adolescents engaging in consensual relationships from legal repercussions.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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