The Romeo Juliet Clause And The Constitutional Dilemma Of Adolescent Intimacy: A Jurisprudential Appraisal Of POCSO Act, 2012 And The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

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Mr. R. Shanmuganandan, M.A., Pub. Admn., M.A., Sociology Member, Juvenile Justice Board, The Nilgiris

ABSTRACT

India has increased the legal age of consent to sexual relationship from 16 years to 18 years according to the POCSO, 2012 backed up by the BNS, 2023. The “Romeo Juliet clause” is a statutory close-in-age exemption that must be viewed as a necessary corrective to the wholesale criminalisation of consensual adolescent relationships. This research adopts to an extensive doctrinal and comparative analysis of various jurisdictions like the USA, Canada and Australia etc., examining the “constitutional paradox", with the interface of protective paternalism with personal liberty, privacy, as well as doctrine of evolving capacities. The Supreme Court of India’s observation in State Of Uttar Pradesh V. Anurudh(2026) assumed the centre-stage in this inquiry which supported legislative flexibility to distinguish between predatory sexual abuse and genuine adolescent intimacy. The report synthesises various judicial pronouncements, statistical reports prepared by Enfold and Project 39A, and the findings of the 283rd Law Commission Report to encourage an effective analytic framework for reform. This framework seeks to protect the "best interests of the child" while also avoiding the "menace" of weaponising child protection laws for collateral family purposes.

Keywords: Romeo-Juliet clause, Child protection, POCSO, Constitution, BNS, Consent, Age

743. THE ROMEO JULIET CLAUSE AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL DILEMMA OF ADOLESCENT INTIMACY- A JURI

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