Criminalising Adolescent Romance Under POCSO: Constitutional Morality, Consent, And International Child Rights Standards
- IJLLR Journal
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Smruti Smaraki Dalabehera, Sambalpur University, Odisha
ABSTRACT
An exhaustive legal framework was introduced to safeguard children from sexual abuse, exploitation, and harassment by the enactment of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012 (POCSO). Though the statute was a remarkable historic step to guarantee children oriented legal remedies and accelerate the prosecution of sexual offenses against minors, still led to numerous constitutional and doctrinal challenges, mostly when it involves cases concerning consensual adolescent romantic relationships. The criminalization of mutually consenting adolescent relationship raises serious concerns regarding proportionality, constitutional morality, and human rights compliance.
This paper looks closely at POCSO's statutory design, judicial interpretation, and the impact of absolute age-based incapacity on adolescent autonomy. It digs into constitutional law on the right to privacy, right to life with dignity, and sexual autonomy, as established by the Supreme Court in various landmark judgements. The study considers the idea of proportionality under Article 21 and evaluates the law in light of India's obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), including the principles of developing capabilities and child involvement. Using comparative viewpoints from the US, UK, Canada, and South Africa, the paper would demonstrate how close-in-age exclusions and graded consent strike a compromise between adolescent agency and child protection.
The article also concludes that a calibrated reform that includes close-in-age exclusions and distinguishes between exploitative and consenting behavior will bring POCSO in line with constitutional morality, international child rights standards, and global best practices. This change would maintain the statute's protective purposes while eliminating the unintended criminalisation of adolescent relationships.
Keywords: POCSO, Adolescent Romance, Consent, Constitutional Morality, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Close-in- Age Exemptions, Sexual Autonomy, Comparative Law
