Lowering age of consent will undermine child safety: Govt

NEW DELHI: Despite a Supreme Court bench in Jan asking Centre to consider introducing a "Romeo-Juliet" clause to exempt "genuine adolescent relationships" from Pocso's harshest provisions, govt in response to a question in Lok Sabha on Friday said "any dilution of the age of consent or introduction of exceptions would undermine child safety, increase the risk of exploitation, and weaken India's commitment to the protection of children, especially adolescent girls". Minister for women and child development, Annpurna Devi, stated in the written reply that "uniformity across laws in prescribing the age of consent as 18 years is intended to prevent manipulation, coercion, and exploitation of minors, recognising that children lack the legal and psychological capacity to give meaningful and informed consent in matters involving sexual activity." The WCD minister was replying to a question on misuse of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act raised by Lok Sabha MPs from CPI, Subbarayan K and Selvaraj V, where they asked "whether the attention of govt has been drawn to the concern expressed by a two-judge bench of SC about the repeated misuse of Pocso Act, asking govt to consider introducing a "Romeo-Juliet" clause to exempt "genuine adolescent relationships" from Pocso's harshest provisions". In response, the minister said, "The legislative decision to retain the age of consent at 18 years is a conscious and considered policy determination." Devi highlighted that the age of majority has been uniformly fixed at 18 years across various statutes in order to maintain consistency and coherence within the legal framework, including, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; Pocso Act, 2012; Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006; Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956; Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015; and Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956.

" "The legislative intent underlying these enactments reflects the settled position that individuals below the age of 18 years are not deemed capable of providing informed consent or making decisions, the long-term implications of which they may not fully comprehend," the minister said. Pocso does not explicitly define the term 'consent', and under the statutory framework, any sexual act involving a person below 18 years of age is treated as an offence, irrespective of whether consent was purportedly given.