What is ‘Romeo-Juliet clause'? SC asks Centre to consider its inclusion in POCSO for THIS reason

Amid the ongoing misuse of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012, the Supreme Court has suggested the Centre introduce a 'Romeo-Juliet clause' to protect genuine teenage relationships from harsh criminal consequences. While expressing concern, the court noted that POCSO is often used to penalise consensual relationships between adolescents, rather than protecting children from abuse. 

This comes after the Uttar Pradesh government appealed a bail matter under POCSO, where the Allahabad High Court had directed police to conduct medical age determinations and allowed bail courts to scrutinise documents like school certificates.  The court also ruled that such directions exceeded the High Court's jurisdiction and could lead to 'mini-trials' at the bail stage, emphasising that age determination should follow Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice Act.

What is the Romeo-Juliet clause in POCSO?

A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh said, "Considering that repeated judicial notice has been taken of the misuse of these laws, let a copy of this judgment be circulated to the Secretary, Law, Government of India, to consider initiation of steps as may be possible to curb this menace inter alia, the introduction of a Romeo-Juliet clause exempting genuine adolescent relationships from the stronghold of this law; enacting a mechanism enabling the prosecution of those persons who, by the use of these laws, seek to settle scores, etc."

The Romeo-Juliet clause refers to a proposed amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. It is aimed to exempt consensual adolescent relationships from harsh criminal consequences. This clause is suggested to prevent the misuse of the law when families object to consensual relationships between teenagers. In such instances, a case is filed against the boy under the POCSO Act. Since consent is not a defence under POCSO, the accused, despite being a minor, faces severe imprisonment. Therefore, the Supreme Court believes that laws should be introduced that can distinguish between frivolous cases and those that constitute genuine crimes.