The Supreme Court has been urged by amicus curiae and senior advocate Indira Jaising to read down the statutory age of consent from 18 to 16 years.Jaising, who is assisting the top court in “Nipun Saxena v. Union of India” case, has filled her written submissions challenging the blanket criminalisation of sexual activity involving adolescents aged 16 to 18 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 and Section 375 of IPC.
She has argued the current law criminalises consensual romantic relationships among adolescents and violates their constitutional rights.
Jaising said the legal framework wrongly equates consensual relationships between adolescents with abuse, ignoring their autonomy, maturity, and capacity to consent.
“There is no rational reason or empirical data to justify the increase in the age of consent from 16 to 18 years,” Jaising submitted, noting that the age had remained at 16 for over 70 years until it was raised by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
She pointed out the increase came without debate and went against the Justice Verma Committee’s recommendation to retain 16 as the age of consent.