New Delhi: According to the laws related to sexual offenses in India, it is a crime for a young man above 18 years of age to have sexual relations with a girl below 18 years of age, even on the basis of mutual consent.
If the two have consensual relations and the girl becomes pregnant, if the girl’s parents file a police complaint, the man involved in the relationship will be sentenced to jail. In this context, lawyer Harsh Vibol Singhal has filed a petition in the Supreme Court to declare consensual intercourse as a crime. In this case, the Supreme Court has sought the Central Government’s response on this petition.
In various countries it is not considered a crime if a young man between 18-19 years of age has consensual relationship with a girl between 16-18 years of age. This is called the Romeo and Juliet Law. Accordingly, advocate Harsh Vibol Singhal has mentioned in his petition that this law should be introduced in India as well. In India, millions of people under the age of 18 engage in consensual sex. In this context, it is inappropriate to treat it as a crime and punish the man, he said in his petition.
