Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 07:07pm on 10 Jan 2026,Saturday India
India’s Supreme Court has asked the Centre to consider introducing a “Romeo-Juliet” clause in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to shield consensual adolescent relationships with minimal age gaps from criminal prosecution, citing frequent misuse of the law by families and others to settle personal scores. The bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh also ruled that high courts cannot mandate medical age determination at the bail stage in POCSO cases. The recommendation aims to balance protecting children from abuse with preventing unjust criminalisation of teen couples. (PC: The Hindu)
