POCSO Act not meant to criminalise consensual romantic relationships between adolescents: Allahabad High Court

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) was never meant to treat consensual romantic connections between teenagers as criminal offences, the Allahabad High Court recently observed [Mrigraj Gautam v State]..Justice Krishan Pahal further said that though the Act is aimed at safeguarding children from sexual abuse, it is being misused these days to exploit children. ."POCSO was formulated to protect children under the age of 18 years from sexual exploitation. Nowadays more often than not it has become a tool for their exploitation. The Act was never meant to criminalise consensual romantic relationships between adolescents," the Court's October 26 order stated. .The Court added that when bail petitions in POCSO cases come up, courts should examine whether or not the relationship was consensual based on love. "The fact of consensual relationship borne out of love should be of consideration while granting bail because it would amount to perversity of justice if the statement of victim was ignored and accused was left to suffer behind jail," the Court's order said. .The Court made the observation while granting bail to a man accused of kidnapping and luring away a girl, who was said to be 15 years of age as per her school certificates. .The counsel for the accused contended that he was falsely implicated in the case. He added that there was no ossification test conducted on the girl to conclusively prove that she was a minor. The lawyer further argued that her physical appearance suggested that she was older than 15 years. .Considering that the accused did not have any prior criminal records, his detention in jail since May 2023, the nature of the offence, the evidence on record and the victim-girl's statement, the Court proceeded to allow the release of the accused on bail. Advocate Dharm Singh Parmar represented accused-applicant..POCSO Act: Calcutta High Court calls for decriminalising consensual sexual acts involving adolescents above 16 years.On a related note, various High Courts have commented on the need to ensure that the POCSO Act is not used to criminalise consensual romantic relationships between adolescents. .In 2021, the Madras High Court took this view while quashing a POCSO case lodged against a man in his early twenties for having eloped with a teenage girl and consummated the relationship.In February last year, the Allahabad High Court opined that the POCSO Act does not deal with cases where adolescents or teenagers were involved a dense "romantic affair", while granting bail to a man who married a 14-year-old minor girl.More recently, the Calcutta High Court called for decriminalising consensual sexual acts involving adolescents above 16 years, while observing that there is a need to strike a balance between "protection" to children and "criminalising" adolescents..[Read Order]