Re: Right To Privacy Of Adolescents, 2024 SCC Online SC 2055: A Case Analysis
- IJLLR Journal
- Oct 21
- 1 min read
Aparajita Singh, BBA LLB (Hons), Symbiosis Law School, Pune
Adv. Jyotsana Singh
ABSTRACT
In Re: Right to Privacy of Adolescents, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 2055, is an important step in judicial interpretation of privacy, consent, and child protection in India. It was occasioned by a case of a 14 year old girl and a 25 year old male after the Calcutta High Court notoriously exonerated the accused on the basis of a consensual romantic affair. By adopting suo motu cognisance, the Supreme Court reiterated that the informed consent of a minor does not possess any legal significance in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 because adolescents are not in a position to make an informed consent. The Court affirmed, but by reference to Article 142 of the Constitution reversed the sentence taking into account the marriage and motherhood of the victim, to strike a balance between the harshness of the law and justice which is human. It also commented on how the system failed in bringing guard to the rehabilitation of the victim, the necessity to emphasize the constitution rights to dignity, privacy and equality over the Articles 14 and 21. The verdict balances the lawful protection and the philosophical restorative justice in a way in which the emphasis is put on the holism of adolescent victims and their dignity and the practicality of the law, but does not diminish the protection under POCSO.
