Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing as amicus curiae in the Supreme Court, urged the bench to revisit the age of consent under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. She argued that the current legal framework automatically labels consensual romantic relationships between minors as abuse, depriving them of autonomy and reproductive health rights, and deterring them from seeking critical medical and psychological care.

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, presiding over a separate constitutional stakeholders consultation in December 2022, had already flagged the issue. He noted that POCSO treats all sexual activity below 18 as non-consensual, even among paired minors, and urged Parliament to evaluate lowering the threshold, citing rising concern among experts in adolescent health.

Multiple high courts also backed the change. The Madhya Pradesh High Court called the law unjust to adolescent boys and recommended reducing the age from 18 to 16, pointing to early puberty resulting from social media exposure.

Studies support reform: one analysis found that nearly 24% of POCSO cases involving consensual relationships led to acquittals in almost 94% of trials—arguably a wasteful and traumatic process.

With the Supreme Court now hearing the plea, the outcome may prompt legal reform that balances protection with adolescent rights and dignity under the law.