Gwalior bench of MP High Court requests Govt of India to reduce age of consensual physical relations from 18 to 16 years

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) [India], June 30 : The Gwalior Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has requested the Government of India to reduce the age of consensual physical relations between a male and a female from 18 years to 16 years.

The single bench of Justice Deepak Kumar Agarwal made the remark on Tuesday (June 27), during the hearing of a petition filed in connection with a rape case reported on July 17, 2020.

Justice Agarwal was hearing a petition filed by one Rahul Chandel Jatav under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. for quashing of the FIR registered at Thatipur police station in the district under Sections 376(2)(F)(n), 376(3), 315 of IPC as well as under Section 5(L)(O)/6 of POCSO Act and 66 of IT Act as well as the sessions Trial pending before learned 13th Additional Sessions Judge, and Special Judge POCSO Act, Gwalior.

The Judgement read, "This Court would like to share its experience as a Judge that before amendments in IPC under Section 375 of IPC regarding age of prosecutrix for the purpose of consent that was 16 years and subsequently enhanced by amendment up to 18 years due to this amendment, fabric of society has been disturbed. Nowadays, every male or female near the age of 14 years due to social media awareness and easily accessible internet connectivity is getting puberty at an early age."

"Owing to this, female and male children are getting attraction and these attractions are resulting in physical relationship with consent. In these cases, male persons are not at all criminal. It is only a matter of age when they come into contact with a female and develop physical relationships. Only due to this reason, lawmakers in IPC when it came into force put the age of female as 16 years since they were well aware of the aforesaid facts," it added.

The judgement further read, "Generally, girls and boys of adolescence develop friendship and thereafter, due to attraction make physical relationships. But, due to this rider boy is treated like a criminal in the society. Today, most of the criminal cases, in which prosecutrix is under 18 years of age, due to aforesaid anomaly, injustice is going on with adolescent boys. Thus, I request the Government of India to think over the matter for reducing the age of prosecutrix from 18 to 16 years as earlier before amendments so that injustice should be redressed."

Justice Agarwal was hearing a petition filed by one Rahul Chandel Jatav under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. for quashing of the FIR registered at Thatipur police station in the district under Sections 376(2)(F)(n), 376(3), 315 of IPC as well as under Section 5(L)(O)/6 of POCSO Act and 66 of IT Act as well as the sessions Trial pending before learned 13th Additional Sessions Judge, and Special Judge POCSO Act, Gwalior.

According to the judgement copy, facts of the case are that prosecutrix lodged a complaint against the petitioner alleging that she used to go to take coaching classes from present petitioner at Yadav Bhawan. On January 18, 2020, in the morning 7 AM, when she reached Yadav Bhawan for classes, there was no one present on the said coaching and thereafter, the petitioner gave her Juice to drink, thereafter, she became unconscious. Afterwards, the present petitioner committed sexual intercourse with her and made a video of her.

Thereafter, in the pretext of viralling the video, he used to make physical relationship with her many times. When she came to know in April that she was pregnant, she told Rahul, then he fed her a tablet which caused her miscarriage. Rahul used to come to her house several times through the roof and made physical relationships with her, the judgement read

Beside this, prosecutrix also knows one Mukesh Chokotia for the last four years. Mukesh Chokotia used to study with her in school. Mukesh was her distant relative. In 2016, Mukesh also in the pretext of marriage many times made physical relationship with her. On July 16, 2020, Mukesh came to her locality and snatched her mobile and assaulted her with a stick. He had sent her photos on her sister's mobile. Mukesh also used to come to her house and he committed sexual intercourse with her many times. On her report an FIR for the offence punishable under Sections 376(2)(n), 323, 506 of IPC and Section 3/4 of POCSO Act was registered against them, it added.

Justice Agarwal further added, "The impugned FIR as well as all consequential proceedings arising out of crime registered against the present petitioner at Thatipur Police Station, for the offences punishable under Sections 376(2)(F) (n), 376(3), 315 of IPC as well as under Section 5(L)(O)/6 of POCSO Act and 66 of IT Act as well as the Sessions Trial pending before learned 13th Additional Sessions Judge, and Special Judge POCSO Act are hereby quashed."