Polity / Judiciary & Social Justice
The Supreme Court has urged the Union government to examine the introduction of a “Romeo–Juliet clause” in the POCSO Act to prevent criminalisation of genuine, consensual relationships between adolescents. The Court noted that the strict, age-blind application of POCSO often converts consensual teenage relationships into serious criminal cases, defeating the law’s protective intent.
A Romeo–Juliet clause provides a close-in-age exemption, shielding adolescents of similar age involved in consensual relationships from prosecution under statutory sexual offence laws. The concept, named after Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, originated in the United States to address concerns that teenagers were being unfairly punished under rigid statutory rape provisions.
APSC relevance: POCSO Act, judicial law reform, child rights vs adolescent consent, balance between protection and proportionality in criminal law.
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