The Supreme Court on Monday said the state cannot be expected to stop a boy and a girl in a relationship from eloping, while flagging what it described as misuse of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, in cases involving teenagers in voluntary sexual relationships.

A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan made the observation while hearing a suo motu case on the right to privacy of adolescents.

The court said POCSO is meant to address sexual assault and exploitation of children but raised the question of whether relationships involving those in the 15-18 age group should automatically be treated as offences under the law.

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Youthful hearts meet stern statutes

The bench said parents often resort to criminal proceedings to protect their so-called “honour” when teenage girls run away with their partners.

The court was quoted as asking, “How can the State prevent the elopement of a girl and a boy?” and added that “15-18 is a vulnerable age” and “the age of experimentation”.

The bench said, “16-18 years, they (teenagers) develop a relationship and go away. Parents, to protect their honour, fasten onto criminal liability. We have to acquit.”

The court’s comments came in the context of a broader discussion on how criminal law is being used in adolescent relationship cases.

Back to the matter that started it all

The hearing also revisited the case that triggered the court’s earlier privacy proceedings: a Calcutta High Court ruling that had drawn sharp criticism for its remarks on adolescent girls and relationships.

The Supreme Court had later set that ruling aside, and the matter before the bench on Monday was part of the continued suo motu proceedings on adolescent privacy.

Senior advocate Madhavi Divan informed the court that the underlying matter involved the elopement of a minor with a 25-year-old man and said a committee appointed by the court had interacted with the girl.

She also referred to a report flagging “the failure of the system in POCSO matters” and said minors are entitled to rehabilitation measures under the Act.

Could the law change?

Divan also told the court that the girl had wanted to be with the man, had a child with him, and was now settled with her husband while arguing that a system was needed to prevent misuse of the law in such cases.

The bench, meanwhile, said such relationships had been taking place long before the age of consent was raised from 16 to 18 in 2012 and noted that its directions must remain practical.

The matter was posted for further hearing on July 17.

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FAQs

Q1: Why did the Supreme Court question the use of the POCSO Act in teenage relationship cases?

The court said it was concerned that the POCSO Act may be misused to criminalise consensual relationships between adolescents, particularly in elopement cases.

Q2: What did the Supreme Court say about teenage elopement under the POCSO Act?

The bench observed that the State cannot realistically prevent a boy and girl in a relationship from eloping and stressed the need to examine how the law is applied in such cases.