The Delhi High Court has granted bail to a young man accused of raping a girl with whom he was in a "love affair." The court highlighted concerns about the "misapplication" of the law in cases involving young men involved in relationships with girls approaching adulthood.

The court noted that this situation has led to young men being imprisoned due to cases filed by the families of girls who disapprove of their romantic relationships.

Justice Subramonium Prasad made these observations while handling a case where the victim was 16 years old at the time, and the accused, an adult, faced charges of kidnapping and raping the girl.

The high court observed that consensual sex between girls slightly below the age of 18 and boys slightly above 20 falls into a "legal grey area," as consent given by a minor girl is not considered legally valid.

"This court has been constantly seeing that Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) cases are being filed at the behest of the girl's family who object to her friendship and romantic involvement with a young boy and the law is being misapplied in such cases which results in young boys, who have genuinely fallen in love with young adolescent girls, languishing in jails," the judge said.

The court clarified that it was not addressing whether the petitioner had committed the alleged offenses but was solely focused on whether a young man, who has been in jail for nearly three years, should be granted bail, given that all public witnesses, including the victim, had been examined.

In this case, the girl's father had filed a missing person complaint in November 2021, after which it was discovered that the girl was living with the petitioner.

The FIR included charges of kidnapping, aggravated penetrative sexual assault, and rape under the Indian Penal Code and the POCSO Act. The court observed that the girl's statements to doctors and a magistrate indicated she had willingly gone with the youth and that there was no evidence of force. It also noted that the petitioner had been in custody since November 19, 2021, and expressed concern that prolonged incarceration might increase the likelihood of him emerging as a hardened criminal.

"The future of a youngster cannot be ignored by this court at this juncture," it said, adding that no useful purpose would be served in keeping him in further custody.

The court granted bail to the petitioner, requiring him to furnish a security bond of ₹50,000 along with two sureties of the same amount. Additionally, certain conditions were imposed on him.