The Court made the observation while hearing a case involving a 27-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl.
The Bombay High Court at Aurangabad recently held that it would be premature to quash cases filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act involving consensual relationships with minor girls until the Central government clarifies its stance on the possible decriminalization of such matters [Aakash Nanasaheb Waghmare v. State of Maharashtra].
This observation came from a Bench comprising Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Sanjay Deshmukh during the hearing of a case involving a 27-year-old man accused of having sexual relations with a 17-year-old girl.
The accused contended that the relationship was consensual.
“If the Courts start accepting that a fairly major boy of age 25 years on-wards takes such step of taking away the girl who is a minor and then now comes with the defence of adolescent love, then it will not be good sign from the legal point of view, because particular acts are legislated with certain aims and objects. Now unless the things are clarified by the Central Government upon directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, we should not consider such cases (we are carving out those cases wherein both the parties are adolescent and innocent),” the Court said.
The Court’s observation was influenced by a recent Supreme Court judgment in Re: Right to Privacy of Adolescents, where the apex court raised concerns about the criminalization of consensual relationships between adolescents under the POCSO Act.
On May 23, the Supreme Court urged the Central government to examine the possibility of decriminalizing consensual teenage relationships. It also directed the Centre to review the recommendations submitted by the Amicus Curiae and consider implementing a national sex education policy based on the findings of the report.
The High Court noted that the Central government has not yet issued a response and stated that it would wait for such clarification before considering any exceptions.
In the present case, a police complaint was lodged in January this year after hospital authorities reported that a minor girl had given birth.
At the time, the girl was 17 years and 6 months old and informed authorities that she was in a romantic relationship with the accused. She said they had eloped and married in a temple in 2023 without the consent of their parents.
After living together for a period, she became pregnant and later returned to her family home to deliver the child.
The man approached the High Court seeking to have the police case dismissed, arguing that the girl had willingly entered into the relationship. In support of his plea, the girl submitted a written statement confirming she had no complaints against him and that pursuing the case would adversely affect both her and her daughter’s future.
However, the High Court refused to quash the case, pointing to the considerable age gap between the accused and the girl.
“The fact which cannot be brushed aside is that the applicant was around 26 years of age at the time of alleged marriage. At least he ought to have understood that he should wait till the girl attains 18 years of age. Then in spite of having knowledge that the girl is minor, when he takes her away from the legal custody of her parents, from that point itself he commits the offence,” the Court said.
The Court also raised wider concerns about child marriage and adolescent pregnancies. It cited a local news report revealing that, in 2024 alone, 453 pregnant minor girls were involved in child marriages in Aurangabad district.
