Open Access Research Article
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH AGE OF CONSENT IN INDIA BY: GURU PRASAD SINGH & DR. MAMTA SHARMA
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Article Details
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH AGE OF CONSENT
IN INDIA
AUTHORED BY: GURU PRASAD SINGH
(RESEARCH SCHOLAR, SOLJ&G, GAUTAM BUDDHA
UNIVERSITY)
CO-AUTHOR - DR. MAMTA SHARMA
(ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, SOLJ&G, GAUTAM BUDDHA
UNIVERSITY)
Abstract
Advocating sexuality for late adolescents in India is
something that our social norms will disapprove of and given the reality of the
deep-rooted taboo and the associated stigma the task of the researcher becomes
further difficult. But everything cannot be seen from the perspective of one’s
own personal lives and to observe the appropriateness of any law one has to
traverse the boundaries of the norms which a person themselves seeks to impose
within its personal space. And then it is to see what can be done to prevent
misuses of the laws which are happening already. Does the laws prescribing age
of consent seem appropriate in that context has to be observed. The Ministry of
Women and Child Development is credited with enactment of Protection of
Children from Sexual Offences Act in the year 2012 (hereinafter ‘POCSOA’). The
Act has been a significant step in addressing sexual abuse and sexual
exploitation of children. On a parallel note, in 2013 we have witnessed
significant changes in the prevalent laws against Sexual Offences. These
significant changes were brought in the backdrop of the Nirbhaya case and
sweeping reforms were introduced therein. A significant change was introduced
in the age of consent as enshrined under Sec. 375 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Before 2013, if the girl was above 16 years of age she was having a valid age
to consent for sexual Intercourse. But the POCSOA which came into force 14th
November, 2012 defined a child as a person below 18 years of age. This inherent
conflict was finally resolved after 2013 amendment which rose the age of
consent to 18 years in the Penal Code as well. This research paper will delve
into the prior reasoning of keeping the age of consent at 16 years and what are
the probable consequences and implications which the new laws have ushered in.
Keywords: Age of Consent, Autonomy, Child Sexual Abuse, Consensual Relationships.
1. Introduction
An
important objective of this work is to emphasize the graded nature of
childhood. This necessitates paying special attention to a unique case:
children in their late adolescence. In this work, individuals aged between
16-18 years are referred to as “late adolescents” to fulfill this requirement. With
introduction of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012
(POCSOA), it was the establishment of a new paradigm in Child Protection
Mechanism. The Act provided for a comprehensive regime of protection to the
children by laying down the parameters of sexual offences against them. This
included sexual assault, aggravated forms thereto, harassment, pornography etc.
Before POCSOA, the cases of Child Sexual Abuses were covered by the Indian
Penal Code, and the relevant provisions in Secs. 354 and 375 were accordingly
amended in 2013 after the enactment of POCSOA. The Act penalizes penetrative as
well as non-penetrative sexual assault and established a gender-neutral child
protection regime by providing specialized penal law dealing upon the subject
by filling the lacunas and gaps prevailing therein. Similarly, the definition
of rape in the Penal Code was also expanded via the Criminal Law Amendment Act,
2013, and it included within its scope non-penetrative sexual assaults as well.
The POCSOA
apart from penalizing different forms of sexual crimes against children also
mandates reporting of any such incident to the police. It effectively rose the
age of consent from 16 years to 18 years and thus any such incident against a
child below eighteen years has to be mandatorily reported. [1]
n the
global scenario it will be worthwhile to highlight the concept of ‘evolving
legal capacity’ for the children. Under this regime it has been claimed that in
the modern age the children can no more continued to be seen as vulnerable.
There are debates which challenge the stereotypical notion of a child always
being an object of protection and would therefore have no autonomy. Gradually
the world is witnessing the challenges which have been posed upon such
entrenched notions and the children are now seen as rights holder.[2]
It will thus be very problematic to deny capacity to the late adolescents as
far as their sexual and reproductive rights is concerned. The laws which seem
to protect should not be used as a medium to disenfranchise them from access to
health services, which they would otherwise receive had been they given the
capacity to consent on their sexuality.[3]
There was a
paradoxical situation prior to the case of Independent
Thought v. Union of India[4],
wherein a married girl child above the age of 15 years was treated competent to
consent for sexual activity. However, this anomaly was lately resolved by the
Supreme Court which read down Exception 2 to bring it in harmony with other
laws which had risen the age of consent within marriage to 18 years as well.
Therefore, it is very pertinent that the debates surrounding age of consent
must be relooked by the Indian lawmaking agencies keeping in view the evolving
capacities, autonomy, access to healthcare services, misuse of the existing
laws, etc.[5]
2. Evolution of the Age of Consent
With advent of the British in India,
there was this growing consciousness among the social reformers which was
brewing. There were many social evils which had crept into the Indian society
against which many reformers stood up. Among those social evils the child
marriage was a prominent one. But due to the prevailing circumstances the original
draft of the Indian Penal Code presented by Lord Macaulay had the age of
consent at 10 years.[6]It was only
through the effort of the reformers that it was increased to 12 years keeping
in view the need to impose curbs on the social menace of child marriages.[7] The
child marriages were quite prevalent in many regions and had serious impact on
the wellbeing of the women. Their cause was well advocated by prominent
socio-religious reform movements in India. However, the reforms movements were
also occasioned by the presence of reactionary nationalists who claimed
immunity from interference by British into the matters which are strictly
personal.[8]
It will be pertinent here to
highlight the difference between ‘minimum age of marriage’ vis-à-vis ‘age of
consent for sexual activity’ and ‘age of consent within marriage’. Sexual
activity is basically an interpersonal conduct which can take place irrespective
of the marital status. Marriage, however, places this interpersonal conduct
within the framework of the norms of the society and the law. It is interesting
to note that these phenomena have a very dynamic interaction inter se and the
same have been gradually evolved over the time.
The reform movements were getting
intense and it was only after the death of a female married child that the
movement gained impetus and Age of Consent Bill, 1891 was proposed by the
social reformers. Accommodating such proposal was thus made easier for the
British as otherwise it would have been opposed by the reactionary elements
which sought non-interference in personal matters.[9]Needless
to say, that during those times the reforms prohibiting child marriage was not
appreciated by a considerable section of the society as they considered their
privilege to regulate their personal matters without any outside interference.
Thereafter,
we see that the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, which was passed on 28th
September, 1929 ascertained the minimum age of marriage for girls at 14 years
and for boys at 18 years. It is also popularly known as the Sarda Act, after
the name of Harbilas Sharda. It was enforced on 1st April, 1930 and
was a necessary outcome of the social reform movements in India. However, it
was short of due implementation from the British Authorities as they feared
losing support of loyalist communal groups.[10]
Also, in the Penal Code there was exemption to the sexual activity which was
within marriage, and the age of consent for those purposes was kept at 13
years.
After India’s independence, the
minimum age of marriage was further modified to 15 years for girls, and finally
in 1978 it was further raised to 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys. The
latter became the prevalent law which is effective until now. However, age of
consent for sexual activity within marriage, which was kept slightly lower than
the minimum age of marriage, was also gradually increasing. In 1978, the age of
consent for sexual activity was retained at 16 years and the age of consent
within marriage was 15 years.
The law relating to age of consent is
remnant of the colonial legacy which witnessed women as a property. The idea of
age of consent, the violation of which lead to statutory rape can be seen to
have evolved from the 13th Century England. From there, this law has
accordingly been extended to other countries where there was influence of the
British colonial regime. It was conceived as that age when the girl could
consent for sexual activity without attracting any penal consequences and thus
to be deemed as ‘sexually available’. The primary aim was to protect the
chastity of privileged and elite section of the women only and the protection
did not extend to lower order and underprivileged sections of the women.[11]
The same could be observed in the context of Uganda.[12]
The lawmakers have been challenged
with the demands to harmonize the balance between ‘age of consent’, ‘age of
marriage’ and ‘age of consent within marriage’ for a long time. The Law
Commission of India’s, Eighty Fourth Report[13]
recommended increasing the age of consent to 18 years since marriage with a
girl below 18 years was prohibited the same should be echoed in the rape law in
the penal code. The same was echoed in 205th Report of the Law
Commission of India[14],
which added further that the exception provided to the cases of marital rape in
Penal Law should be deleted.
Marriage in India is witnessed by
interplay of varied factors like caste, religion, class, family and so on.
Early marriages stem from the need where the parents tend to maintain these
social norms surrounding the marriage. Therefore, in order to prevent inter-caste
or inter-religious marriages, the practice of tying the girl in a marriage was
also intended to protect these rigid social norms from being flouted. The
domination of the social norms upon the institution of marriage is very
paramount.[15]
The Prohibition of Child Marriage
Act, 2006 provides a minimum age of marriage at 18 years for girls and 21 years
for boys. However, the violation of the prescribed age does not impinge upon
the validity of such marriage and they are considered as voidable and could be
set aside within two years when the contracting party attains majority. The
situation becomes problematic when the existing framework of the Penal Law, The
POCSOA, Child Marriage framework, has been misused only because the social
norms upheld by the parents don’t approve of the choices made by their children
as far as their sexuality is concerned. Most of the elopement cases are seen
where the parents approach the authorities to prevent violation of such laws
and prevent the marriages from happening.[16]
Moreover, POCSOA Cases initiated against the boy in consensual cases which
later turn sour due to any reason.
3. Criminalization of Consensual Relation in Late Adolescents
With changing times, it must be
acknowledged by the society that children start exploring their sexuality in
their late adolescence. The National Family Health Survey-4 has stated that
roughly 39% of the girls reported having sexual intercourse before the age of
18 years.[17] Another
study conducted by International Institute of Population Sciences highlights
the high probability of increased sexual activity in the late adolescents.[18]
Similar studies have been highlighted at the International level as well.[19]However,
due to the associated taboo and stigma the issues do not properly surface
themselves up for a healthy discussion. This further leads to ignorance, misuse
of the legal provisions, gender biases, and patriarchal mindsets, denial of
healthcare to children.
It will be worthwhile to acknowledge
NCRB data of 2015 where more than 50% of cases registered under Sec. 4 and Sec.
6 of the POCSOA were related to adolescents aged between 16 to 18 years.[20]
In the recent 2019 report[21]out
of 24672 cases recorded all over India, 12834 accounted for Family Friends, Neighbors,
and Other Known Persons.
The most significant contribution
here is the study conducted by Centre for Child and the Law, National Law
School of India University, in five states.[22]
It has provided shocking revelations as far as criminalization of romantic
relationships under POCSOA is concerned. It is stated that most of the cases
comprised of consensual relationships which later turned sour or wherein the
parents of the girl have dragged the accused to the court as they didn’t
approve of the concerned relation. In Delhi, 21.58% judgments analyzed were
‘romantic’ cases[23],
similarly, in Maharashtra 20.52%[24],
in Andhra Pradesh 21.21%[25],
in Assam, 15.69%[26], lastly,
in Karnataka, 5.45%[27]
cases were ‘romantic’ in nature.
Another glaring observation made in
the combined study was that in cases of such romantic relationships the Special
Courts of Delhi, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh adopted a lenient approach of
numerous forms. Moreover, the conviction rate in cases related to such
consensual sexual acts poses another challenge, when disconnect between the
letter and spirit of POCSOA is accordingly noticed. The rates have been very
low, for example 3% in Maharashtra and 0% in Assam. Many cases reveal
circumstances where the victims overturned from their statements made earlier
and also refused to testify against their partner.
In the Delhi Report it has been
flagged that majority of the cases seemed to indicate a romantic relationship. This
study documented a total of 526 complaints of sexual assault under POCSOA. 28%
of them were related to adolescents in 16 – 18 years age group. Quite
interestingly, 90% of these complaints resulted in an acquittal after the
adolescent girl rejected to testify against the accused. 10% of adolescent
girls testified that the accused was their boyfriend and another 7% testified
that the accused was a friend. The profile study of the accused revealed that
19% of such cases resulted in subsequent marriage. This in turn may indicate
the misuse of POCSOA in relations which turned sour.
In the Maharashtra Report, out of the
concerned 273 cases of consensual relations more than 60% of cases were
concerned with victims aged between 16 to 18 years.[28]
This again calls for relook of special cases where the parties are at later
adolescent stages.
In a vast number of cases flagged in
these reports it has been observed that testimony of the girl signified a
consensual relation. However, in such cases even if the girl is married her
willingness and voluntariness does not have any significance since she is
technically below the age of consent. In such cases there are instances as
flagged in the ‘Delhi Report’ where the girl was subjected to undergo further
harassment at the hands of investigating authorities and further procedural
lapses was encountered.[29]
In many consensual cases of late
adolescents, as highlighted in the Mumbai and Delhi Report, there were
compromise. In other majority cases there was bail followed by an acquittal.
Only few cases resulted in actual conviction. Another significant study
highlights those parental restrictions on consensual relation reinforces
marriage as an only option to the couple, for which they are seldom prepared.
The stigma and social pressures leave no other option than marrying the
partner.[30]
4. Judicial Attitude towards Consensual Relations
Recently, Supreme Court was faced
with adjudication of a case from Tamil Nadu, wherein an eighteen-year-old boy
was accused of raping a seventeen-year-old schoolmate. It is reported that they
were in a consensual relation, but later upon refusal of marriage proposal the
girl allegedly implicated the boy.[31]
Apex Court has decided to intervene in the matter and decide whether POCSO Act
can be invoked to punish adolescents for consensual relationships which later
turned unpleasant.
In yet another case of Bombay High
Court, the issue received much media attention and several media reports were
published on the issue.[32]
In this case, the consenting minors were first cousins and were living
together. The girl had informed her teacher about her consensual relation and
upon that the teacher filed an FIR against the boy. After medical examination
it was revealed that there were multiple sexual assaults but no external injury
was discovered which suggested consensual act. The girl in her statement under
Sec. 164 of CrPC, agreed to the fact that it was a consensual relation. But she
had changed her statements twice after that. The Hon’ble High Court after
granting bail to the accused made a significant observation which was raised in
many media reports:
“Consensual sex between minors has been in a legal grey area because the
consent given by minor is not considered to be a valid consent in eyes of law”.
Similarly, in Sabari v. Inspector of Police and Ors,[33]
the Madras High Court has suggested the following measures:
·
“From
our records, the analysis shows that majority of the cases are elopement cases
registered under POCSO. Elopement cases have to be dealt separately since the
cases are voluminous. Due to this, the actual cases of minor rape victims are
not prioritized resulted in delays in rendering justice for the minor victims
of rape.
·
The
Commission is of the view that the child marriage shall not be taken under
POCSO, in some cases the honor killing is also be associated.
·
If
the boy and a girl belong to the same community then the whole villagers
support the child marriage and no case is filed against them, but in the case
of different communities’ case is made out against the boy which ends up with
communal unrest.
·
In
case a boy and girl below 18 years elope, only the boy is punished which is
detrimental against the natural justice for the boy.
·
Offence
by Juveniles to Juveniles sends an alarm to the society. Our analysis shows
that the Juveniles are falling a prey to the environmental hazards and children
are of deviant background hence rape crimes seem to be raging. It is said by
Psychologist that if juvenile is a victim of abuse in any form will take
revenge against society and in most cases they become the perpetrators of crime
in the later dates.
·
In
cases where of adult commits crime against a minor should be dealt with severe
punishments.
·
In
case of gang rape, if the Juvenile is one among the perpetrator the case has to
be conducted on the recent amendment that he has to be treated as an adult in
the designated court.
·
The
Child Welfare Committees and the District Child Welfare Officers have to play
an important role in case of POCSO related matters but the department is silent
about taking cognizance of POCSO Act or rules.
·
For
better monitoring is ensured if adequate budget and staff have to be provided
to bring awareness to this commission.
·
Educative
materials on POCSO can be circulated in schools to spread awareness among
Teachers, Parents and Children and to media professionals.”
The Court additionally opined that the
definition of “child” under Sec. 2 (d) of the POCSOA could be changed to 16
years instead of the current 18 years. The Justice J. S. Verma Committee Report[34]
set up after the Nirbhaya Case recommend criminal law reforms to the Penal Law
gave the same recommendation of restricting the criminalization of adolescent
sex to 16 years or under in POCSOA, and continue the age of consent in Sec.
375. However, the legislature still went ahead and increased the age of consent
to 18 years.
Thus, it is quite evident that the
age of consent in POCSOA is more often misused in consensual cases and seems to
uphold paternalistic stance of the parents than fulfilling its real gender-neutral
objective for which it was enacted. There is problematic situation which
questions the objective of POCSOA in this context. Did it connote a legislation
to control the sexuality of the children or was it something which intended to
curb the mischief of child sexual abuse? The distinction between these two has
to be necessarily drawn.
5. The debate surrounding Close-in-age exemption
Pertinent here to state the
recommendation of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
(hereinafter as ‘NCPCR’), which stated the incorporation of “close-in-age
exemption” in order to rule out cases of non-penetrative assault between
children aged above 12 years who are within an age gap of 2 years. In cases of
penetrative sexual assault, the recommended exemption should be availed between
children aged above 14 years who are within an age gap of 3 years.[35] Similar
exemptions do exist in other jurisdictions like USA and Canada.[36]
Close-in-age exemption connotes that
such consensual cases only where the age gap between the accused and the victim
is very less, such cases are generally of elopement and should not attract
penal consequences directed only against the boy. The Madras High Court in the
earlier case had recommended the age gap of five years to be a standard to
prevent older men from exploiting young girl child.
In a comparative study conducted by T.
Nyibizi while arguing induction of such provisions in Rwandan law, he has examined
the criminalization of adolescents who engage in consensual sexual
relationships with a maximum age difference of three years. The study further elucidates
on the tension between such criminalization and safeguarding the best interests
of both the young individuals involved and any potential victims. The argument
presented is that imposing penalties on individuals aged 18, 19, or 20, who are
in consensual relationships with partners just three years younger (15, 16, or
17, respectively), lacks justification in terms of protecting these young
individuals from the potential harms and hazards associated with sexual
relationships. This approach is posited to inflict negative consequences on the
accused, the alleged victim, and any offspring resulting from such
relationships. The paper contends that adopting a close-in-age defense would be
more appropriate in the context of Rwandan law, preventing the criminalization
of consensual sexual activities among young individuals with an age gap of up
to three years. To assess potential improvements, the study employs a combination
of doctrinal analysis and a comparative study, examining how other countries
have addressed similar issues.[37]
6. Mandatory reporting issue and healthcare access
Another
issue which complicates the matter is the mandatory reporting of any sexual
activity below the age of consent. The authorities and even private citizen
have to report any such activity to the authorities because any such activities
even the cases of consensual relation fall under the blanket category of sexual
assault. This leads to a situation where the girl who is a partner to the
consensual relation would rather forego the healthcare services like
contraception and medical termination in order to avoid reporting of such cases
to law enforcement agencies. Even the healthcare service providers are under a
fear of rendering healthcare access to such adolescents.[38]
This makes the situation intensely problematic by impliedly denying sexual and
reproductive healthcare.
There are
inherent ethical considerations surrounding mandatory reporting of sexual
violence cases. The complexities and potential implications of making it
mandatory for healthcare professionals to report incidents of sexual violence
to legal authorities is grave. It is important to highlight the tension between
upholding the rights and confidentiality of survivors while also fulfilling the
responsibilities of reporting such cases. Scholarly works have explored the
potential benefits and drawbacks of mandatory reporting, considering issues
like retraumatization of survivors, consent, privacy, and the broader societal
impact. They emphasize the importance of creating a comprehensive framework
that respects the rights of survivors while also addressing the needs for
justice and support. Thus, offering valuable insights into the multifaceted
considerations that must be taken into account when designing policies.[39]
7. Conclusion
After analyzing
the studies in this research work following observations can be submitted:
·
Increasing the age of consent to 18 years after 2013
by ignoring the recommendations from J. S. Verma Committee Report has resulted
in a problematic situation for the late adolescents who enter into consensual
relations.
·
In instances of such consensual relations of late
adolescents the final result is acquittal and compromises in most of the cases.
The Conviction rate is abysmally low.
·
Keeping the age of consent at 18 years and imposing a
blanket category of sexual assault within such category aggravates the issues
concerning healthcare access.
·
The courts have impliedly started recognizing the
problematic issues in consensual relations and deal such cases with a lenient
approach, this shows there is some lacunae in the present laws which cannot be
made applicable in its full spirit.
·
Foreign Jurisdictions have incorporated the concept of
close-in-age exemption in the respective child protection mechanisms. There
must be emphasis accorded to the NCPCR Bill.
Therefore,
it will be safe to assume that if POCSOA and Rape Laws are continued in their
current form, then this will be tantamount to strengthening of protectionist
and patriarchal regime on adolescent sexuality. In such a scenario if its
impact on the wellbeing and healthcare access is weighed, the same will seem to
be unjustified and diverting from the original object of the POCSOA and Penal
Law Reforms.
Increasing
the age of consent to 18 years without incorporating measures for consensual
close-in-age cases, suffers from an erroneous belief that the same would curb
the cases of sexual assault. There is a genuine need to draw the distinction
between genuine cases of sexual assault and that of a consensual elopement
case, in order to keep the spirit of our Penal Laws and Child Protection
Mechanisms intact.
There are
several flawed presumptions when the cases of consensual late adolescents are
considered. These are as follows:
·
Blanket categorization of any conduct as a sexual
assault if the girl is below age of consent.
·
Mandatory reporting of the consensual relations is for
the benefit of adolescents.
·
Patriarchal control upon the sexuality of the children
serves their interest in the best way.
·
There is convergence in the interests of the Justice
System, the late adolescents and the Parents.
Therefore,
it will be essential to roll back the age of consent to 16 years and provide a
uniform change in the existing Penal Laws as well which impinges upon the
sexuality and autonomy of the late adolescents. The Juvenile Justice System
treats the adolescents between 16 – 18 years as adults and responsible for
their actions but the Child Protection Mechanism and Penal Laws on the
overlapping issues consider them incapable to consent on their sexuality.
[1]Amita Pitre and Lakshmi Lingam, “Age of consent: challenges and
contradictions of sexual violence laws in India” 29(2) Sexual and
Reproductive Health Matters (2021).
[2] S. Varadan, “The Principle of
Evolving Capacities under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child” 27(2) The International Journal of Children's
Rights 306-338 (2019). See also J.
Tobin and S. Varadan, “Article 5: The Right to Parental Direction and Guidance
and Consistent with a Child’s Evolving Capacities” in J. Tobin and P. Alston
(eds.), The UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child: A Commentary (Oxford University Press, 2019).
[3]Gerison Lansdown, “The Evolving
Capacities of the Child” (UNICEF Innocenti Insights, Florence, 2005).
[4] (2017) 10 SCC 800.
[5] L. A. Mathew, “Right to Sexual
Autonomy of Children - Implications of the UNCRC upon the Indian Law on the Age
of Consent” 8(2) International Journal
for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 121-134 (2019).
[6] E. Kolsky, “The rule of colonial
indifference: rape on trial in early colonial India, 1805–57” 69(4) The Journal of Asian Studies (2010).
[7] C. H. Heimsath, “The origin and
enactment of the Indian Age of Consent Bill, 1891” 21(4) The Journal of
Asian Studies 491 (1962).
[8] T. Sarkar, “A prehistory of rights:
the age of consent debate in colonial Bengal” 26(3) Feminist Studies (2000).
[9] M. Kosambi, “Girl-brides and
socio-legal change: age of consent bill (1891) controversy” 26(31-32) Economic and Political Weekly, 1857
(1991).
[10]L.
Gulati, “Age of Marriage of Women and Population Growth: The Kerala
Experience” 11 (31/33) Economic and Political Weekly 1225 (1976).
[11] J. Benedet, “Age of innocence: a
cautious defense of raising the age of consent in Canadian sexual assault law”
13(4) New Criminal Law Review
665-687 (2010).
[12]S. A.
Parikh, “They arrested me for loving a schoolgirl:
ethnography, HIV, and a feminist assessment of the age of consent law as a
gender-based structural intervention in Uganda” 74(11) Social Science and Medicine 1774-1782 (2012).
[13] Law Commission of India, “84th
Report on Rape and allied offences: Some questions of Substantive Law,
Procedure and Evidence” (April, 1980).
[14] Law Commission of India, “205th
Report on Proposal to Amend The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and
other Allied Laws” (February, 2008).
[15]
A. Loomba, “Inter-caste marriage and the liberal imagination: Vijay
Tendulkar's Kanyadaan” 48(43) Economic and Political Weekly 101-111
(2013).
[16] M. Mehra and A. Nundy, Why girls run away to marry: adolescent
realities and socio-legal responses in India (Partners for Law in
Development, New Delhi, 2020).
[17] International Institute of
Population Sciences, “National Family Health Survey 4 (NFHS – 4)” (2015).
[18]International
Institute of Population Sciences, “Youth in India: situation and needs
2006–2007” (2009).
[19] S. Petroni, M. Das, S. M. Sawyer, “Protection
versus rights: age of marriage versus age of sexual consent” 3(4) The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
(2019): According to UNICEF’s estimate
10-12% of adolescents in low- and middle-income countries have had sex before
the age of 15 years.
[20] National Crime Records Bureau,
Crime in India 2015 statistics, New Delhi: National Crime Records Bureau, 2015.
[21] National Crime Records Bureau,
“Crime in India 2019 statistics” (2019).
[22] Centre for Child and the Law,
National Law School of India University,“Implementation of the POCSO Act, 2012
by Special Courts: Challenges and Issues Based on CCL-NLSIU’s Studies on the
Working of Special Courts in Five States” (February, 2018).
[23] Centre for Child and the Law,
National Law School of India University “Study on the Working of Special Courts
under the POCSO Act, 2012 in Delhi” (2016). (Hereinafter as ‘Delhi Report’).
[24] Centre for Child and the Law,
National Law School of India University “Study on the Working of Special Courts
under the POCSO Act, 2012 in Maharashtra” (2017). (Hereinafter as ‘Maharashtra
Report’).
[25] Centre for Child and the Law,
National Law School of India University “Study on the Working of Special Courts
under the POCSO Act, 2012 in Andhra Pradesh” (2017). (Hereinafter as ‘Andhra
Pradesh Report’).
[26] Centre for Child and the Law,
National Law School of India University “Study on the Working of Special Courts
under the POCSO Act, 2012 in Assam” (2017) (Hereinafter as ‘Assam Report’).
[27] Centre for Child and the Law,
National Law School of India University “Study on the Working of Special Courts
under the POCSO Act, 2012 in Karnataka” (2017). (Hereinafter as ‘Karnataka
Report’).
[28] See Maharashtra Report, p. 39.
[29] See Delhi Report, p. 107.
[30] Supra Note 16.
[31] “Supreme Court to study whether
minors can be punished under POCSO for consensual sex”, The Hindu, March 30, 2021.
[33][Criminal Appeal No.490 of 2018].
[34] J. S. Verma, L. Seth, et.al.,
“Report of the Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law” Government of India,
Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law, (January, 2013).
[35] National Commission for Protection
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Article Information
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH AGE OF CONSENT IN INDIA BY: GURU PRASAD SINGH & DR. MAMTA SHARMA
Authors: GURU PRASAD SINGH, DR. MAMTA SHARMA
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2023/10/25
- Issue 7
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International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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