Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has made a request to the central government, asking them to consider reducing the age of consent from 18 years to 16 years under Section 375 IPC, which specifically deals with rape cases.
The court’s plea aims to address what it perceives as an injustice being faced by adolescent boys.
The request came as the court quashed a 2020 rape case involving a 20-year-old youth and a 17-year-old girl.
The single-judge bench, headed by Justice Deepak Kumar Agarwal in Gwalior, made the observation on June 27.
Justice Agarwal stated, “This court would like to share its experience as a judge that before the amendments in IPC under Section 375 regarding the age of consent, which was 16 years, and subsequently enhanced to 18 years, the fabric of society had been disturbed.”
The High Court highlighted the influence of social media and easy access to the internet, resulting in early puberty among both male and female adolescents.
It further argued that this early development often leads to mutual attraction and physical relationships with consent.
The court emphasized that in such cases, the males involved should not be considered criminals, as their interaction and physical relationships are influenced by their age and the natural process of development.
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The court referred to the initial age of consent set at 16 years when the IPC came into force, suggesting that lawmakers at the time were aware of these dynamics.
The bench further pointed out that adolescent girls and boys often develop friendships and, due to attraction, may engage in physical relationships. However, the current legal framework treats boys as criminals in such situations.
The court expressed concern over the prevalence of injustice faced by adolescent boys in criminal cases where the prosecutrix is under 18 years of age, highlighting the need to address this anomaly.
Consequently, the High Court made a formal request to the government, urging them to consider reducing the age of the prosecutrix to alleviate the perceived injustice faced by adolescent boys