Legislature should make changes in laws like ‘POCSO’ according to social changes : Meghalaya High Court

Shillong (Meghalaya) – Considering the physical and mental development of adolescent (approximately 16 years of age), children are capable of making decisions based on their own interests, before having sex. This should not be judged as a sexual assault under the ‘POCSO’ Act, observed the Meghalaya High Court. The Court decided to cancel the charges in a case, under article 3 and 4 of  ‘POCSO’ Act (The Act to protect the children from sexual offence) . The petitioner had sought the relevance, from the registered case against him under the Act, claiming that  ‘I and the concerned girl were in love with each other and we had sexual intercourse with each other’s consent’. The Court accepted this demand. The parents may be worried about such love relationship, but the Act was not intended to cover such things. The Court also mentioned that the legislature should change the laws like ‘POCSO’ according to the social developments.

’16-year-old girl capable of making conscious decision for her well-being’; Meghalaya HC quashes POCSO proceedings against boyfriendhttps://t.co/atjvshvtaZ#MeghalayaHighCourt #MeghalayaHC #POCSOAct #CrPC #indianpenalcode #IndianConstitution #SexualAssault #sexualharassment pic.twitter.com/SJc9zSe0Rd

— SCC Online (@scconline_) June 23, 2023

The Court observed that there was an increase in the number of cases registered under ‘POCSO’ on the basis of complaints filed by the families of adolescents involved in love relationships. The ‘POCSO’ Act was not made to curb sexual relations between adolescents or teenagers.