‘Love is not penal: SC on minors’ relationships

“Love is not penal, and it cannot become one,” the Supreme Court asserted on Tuesday, underlining that young couples, even those just short of attaining majority, must be “left alone” if they have entered into genuine romantic relationships.

- Utkarsh Anand

A bench of justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan made the remarks while hearing a batch of petitions that sought guidelines to prevent misuse of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in cases where minors engage in consensual relationships.

During the proceedings, the court also dismissed petitions by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the National Commission for Women (NCW) challenging Punjab and Haryana high court orders that recognised the validity of marriages of Muslim girls after attaining puberty.

The bench said the commissions had “no locus standi” in such matters, remarking: “It is strange that NCPCR, which is for protecting children, has challenged an order protecting two children... Leave these couples alone.”

Personal laws in Islam allow a Muslim girl to enter into a contract of marriage after attaining puberty whereas a set of common civil and criminal laws in India proscribes the marriage of girls under 18 and further makes sexual intercourse with minors a penal offence. With the dismissal, a January 2023 order of the top court that the high court ruling should not be treated as precedent also came to an end.

On Tuesday, the bench noted that while POCSO remains a vital tool to protect children against sexual abuse, there is a distinction between exploitative criminal conduct and “romantic bonds” between teenagers. “Can you say it is criminal to love?” Justice Nagarathna asked, cautioning that prosecuting adolescents for consensual relationships inflicted lasting trauma.