India’s age of consent is higher than in many other countries.
India’s Supreme Court is reviewing whether consensual sex between 16- and 18-year-olds should remain a crime, reigniting debate over the country’s age of consent laws.
In late July 2025, senior lawyer Indira Jaising challenged the current age of consent, which is 18, urging the court to exempt consensual relationships in this bracket from prosecution.
In her written submissions to the court, she said:
“The purpose of age-based laws is to prevent abuse, not to criminalise consensual, age-appropriate intimacy.”
The federal government opposes the proposal, warning that an exemption would compromise child safety under Indian law, which defines anyone under 18 as a minor.
Officials argue that lowering the age of consent could leave children vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
The debate centres on India’s Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, which criminalises sexual activity with anyone under 18.
Critics say the law often punishes consensual teenage relationships.
Child rights activist Sharmila Raje, co-founder of Foundation for Child Protection-Muskaan, said:
“As a society, we’re also divided along caste, class and religious lines, which makes the [age of consent] law even more susceptible to misuse.”
India’s age of consent is higher than in many other countries.
The UK and Canada set it at 16, while the US varies by state.
India’s age was 10 when the criminal code was enacted in 1860, rising to 16 in 1940, and then to 18 under Pocso in 2012.
Courts have struggled with cases where teenagers elope or engage in consensual relationships.
In 2022, the Karnataka High Court directed India’s Law Commission to review the law “so as to take into consideration the ground realities”.
The Law Commission ultimately recommended against lowering the age but supported “guided judicial discretion” in cases involving consensual relationships between 16- and 18-year-olds.
Despite this, recent rulings have highlighted the law’s rigidity.
In April, the Madras High Court sentenced a 23-year-old man to 10 years in prison after he eloped with his 17-year-old girlfriend, whose parents had arranged her marriage to another man.
Shruthi Ramakrishnan, a researcher at Enfold Proactive Health Trust, called the ruling a “grave miscarriage of justice” in a column for The Indian Express.
Ms Jaising argues that judicial discretion alone is insufficient. India’s courts face severe backlogs, with nearly 250,000 Pocso cases pending in January 2023, according to the India Child Protection Fund.
Ms Jaising noted: “The process is the punishment for many.
“A case-by-case approach, leaving it to the discretion of judges, is also not the best solution as it can result in uneven results and does not take into account the possibility of bias.”
She is pushing for a “close-in-age exception” to protect consensual relationships among 16- to 18-year-olds from being treated as crimes.
Some activists caution against blanket exemptions.
Lawyer and child rights campaigner Bhuwan Ribhu said: “We need faster processes so that cases are disposed off in a time-bound manner.
“We also need better rehabilitation facilities and compensation for victims.”
He warns that lowering the age could be misused in cases of trafficking or child marriage.
Others back reform. Enakshi Ganguly, co-founder of HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, said:
“We can’t shy away from making changes because we’re afraid of the law being misused.
“Laws need to keep pace with changes in society if they are to remain effective and relevant.”
The Supreme Court’s decision could reshape how India balances child protection with teenage autonomy. Until then, the debate reflects a deeper struggle over morality, modernity and the realities of young love in the country.
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