The recent observation by the Allahabad High Court emphasized that the POCSO Act was not designed to consider consensual romantic relationships between teenagers as criminal offenses.

Justice Krishan Pahal also stated that while the Act's primary purpose is to protect children from sexual abuse, it is currently being misused to exploit children.

In its October 26 order, the court highlighted that the POCSO Act was originally created to shield individuals under the age of 18 from sexual exploitation. However, it has increasingly become a means for exploiting them. The court clarified that the Act was not intended to label consensual romantic relationships among adolescents as criminal offenses. The court further suggested that when dealing with bail petitions in POCSO cases, courts should assess whether the relationship was based on mutual consent and love.

The court's order emphasized that the presence of a consensual relationship based on love should be taken into account when deciding on bail, as it would be a miscarriage of justice if the victim's statement was disregarded and the accused were unjustly incarcerated.

The court made this observation in the context of granting bail to a man who was accused of kidnapping and enticing a girl. According to her school certificates, the girl was stated to be 15 years old.

The accused's legal representative argued that he had been wrongly implicated in the case. Additionally, the lawyer pointed out that there was no ossification test performed on the girl to definitively establish her age. The defense counsel further contended that the girl's physical appearance indicated that she might be older than 15 years.

Taking into account the accused's lack of previous criminal records, his detention in jail since May 2023, the nature of the offense, the available evidence, and the statement provided by the victim girl, the court decided to grant bail to the accused.

Case: Mrigraj Gautam v State, CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 45007 of 2023.