The Age of Consent Debate: Should India Lower It to 16?

Transcript

00:00A 17-year-old girl and an 18-year-old boy fall in love.

00:09They run away together and the boy ends up in jail.

00:13Sounds unfair?

00:14Under Indian law, it's not.

00:21Across the world, teenagers often engage in romantic and sexual relationships.

00:26But in India, the POCSO Act makes any sexual contact with a person under 18 a crime.

00:33Now, the Supreme Court is set to hear petitions seeking to lower the age of consent to 16,

00:38specially for cases involving teenage romances.

00:41And this has ignited a nationwide debate.

00:44Under the current law, it's simple.

00:46Any sexual contact with a person under 18 is a crime under the POCSO Act.

00:52The Child Marriage Prevention Act bans marriages of girls below 18.

00:56And under the Bharatian Nyaya Sahita, sex with a woman who's under 18,

01:01even if she's married to you, is considered rape.

01:04But the issue is a lot more nuanced.

01:07Several cases have now come up which involve teenagers aged 16 to 18 who run away together.

01:12In such cases, both partners are technically victims, yet both may technically be charged under POCSO.

01:20And if the girl is 17 and the boy is 18, the boy is treated as an adult offender and goes straight to jail.

01:26India does not have a separate age of consent law.

01:30Any consent by a minor is void.

01:33So even if the relationship is consensual, the adult partner cannot legally claim that it was.

01:39Courts, of course, may consider this issue during bail or verdicts, but arrest is mandatory.

01:45And recently, senior advocate Indira Jai Singh suggested introducing a close-in-age or Romeo and Juliet exemption,

01:52like in Canada, US or the UK, where a minor's relationship doesn't lead to automatic prosecution

01:58if the age gap is under 4 years.

02:01But the government has opposed any such change,

02:04arguing that lowering the age of consent could complicate investigation,

02:09could allow forced marriages to be disguised as romantic relationships

02:12and enable grooming, trafficking or mental abuse of minors.

02:17In a world where teenagers are increasingly exploring romantic and sexual relationships,

02:22India's age of consent debate is said to be one of the most intense and consequential legal battles ahead.

02:28Law.