Supreme Court Seeks Centre’s Response on Decriminalizing Consensual Relations for 16-18 Year Olds
The Supreme Court of India, in a significant move, has prompted the Centre to articulate its stance on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that pushes for the decriminalization of consensual sexual relations between adolescents aged 16 to 18.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This development is juxtaposed against the Supreme Court’s recent admonition against any form of hate speech, especially in the wake of the communal disturbances in Haryana.
The PIL, initiated by attorney Harsh Vibhore Singhal in his personal capacity, challenges the prevailing legal paradigm surrounding statutory rape. The current legislation criminalizes consensual relations between individuals aged over 16 but under 18, arguing that their consent is “statutorily invalid.”
A prominent bench, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and accompanied by Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, has taken this matter under advisement. In response, notices have been issued to the Union Ministries of Law and Justice, Home Affairs, and other relevant statutory entities, including the National Commission for Women.
The plea explicitly states,
“Pass a writ of mandamus under Article 32 or any other direction in the nature of writ and exercise its powers under 142 to decriminalize the law of statutory rape as applied to all cases of voluntary consensual sexual contact between any 16+ to 18 adult.”
This quote underscores the plea’s urgency in seeking a revision of the prevailing law.
Delving deeper into the plea’s reasoning, it highlights that adolescents within this age group are equipped with the
“physiological, biological, psychological, and social capacities, competence to assimilate and evaluate information to understand and comprehend risks, freedom to make informed choices to convey affirmative decisions or otherwise, and have the agency and decisional/bodily autonomy to fearlessly, freely and voluntarily do what they wish to do with their bodies.”
This quote accentuates the argument that these adolescents possess the maturity and autonomy to make informed decisions about their personal lives.
