Lawfully yours: By Retired Justice K Chandru | Apex court hearing petitions urging review of the age of consent; let's await its decision

Apex court hearing petitions urging review of the age of consent; let's await its decision

Even though there are cases of higher courts acquitting minors jailed under the Pocso Act for consensual sex, underage children go through the trauma of persecution over the play of hormones they don’t have much control over. In this context, do you think it is better left with judicial discretion to invoke the Pocso Act, in case of a minor involved in consensual sex with an underage partner, as argued by the Law Commission, or is it better to reduce the legal age of consensual sex? What are the ramifications of reducing the legally permitted age for consensual sex?

— R Manikandan, Anna Nagar, Chennai

The debate over the age of consent is nearly a century old. To ban child marriages when a minimum age was prescribed, it was opposed because it violates the Hindu shastra. Now, there is an opposite demand to increase the age for girls to 21 because below that age, they are not mature enough to make decisions regarding marriage.

After the Pocso Act was enacted, the police booked young lovers to boost statistics to show that they are alert, until the Madras High Court and Supreme Court told them to relax and not to book boys for their aberration in their youth. Now that the Supreme Court is hearing a case where the amicus curiae are seeking to read down the statutory age of consent from 18 to 16 years, "as adolescents today attain puberty earlier and are capable of forming romantic and sexual relationships of their choice". Let us await the Supreme Court's decision.

---

Approach Seva Kendra or private operators if online sites, visits to govt offices not helping

Downloading patta or chitta from designated websites created by the department concerned of the state government has become an arduous task. People prefer online facilities as visits to government offices pinch their pockets, as nothing can be done without paying the 'unofficial' fees. This is not the only trouble faced by citizens seeking pattas, but fleecing and inefficient service also occur in every government office for any service requested. Online services were introduced to alleviate the hassles faced by citizens, but this has become more challenging as they often do not function properly. Either the websites do not open, or the pages are not user-friendly. Is there any legal way to get things done or make the online services function efficiently?

— Ashok Kumar, Madhavaram Milk Colony, Chennai

Every online platform comes with technical glitches. It operates as per the programme fed into it. Even minor errors in user input can potentially disrupt or halt the platform's ability to process further information.

The best way is to approach the Seva Kendra, set up by the government, or the private operators, many of whom are functioning near the registration offices. This will be a much better exercise than directly approaching the Revenue department.

The online portal introduction has relieved people of many burdens. If you see the Kerala portals, you can see they are much advanced and serve better. The government should appoint persons in this regard to guide you and answer your doubts, as happens in Kerala.