A study finds 25 % of POCSO cases as romantic relations: report

A new study has linked a large number of cases charged under the Protection of Children from of Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in some Indian states to 'romantic cases".

Enfold Proactive Health Trust and UNICEF-India in its study precisely said that one in four cases that come under POCSO in West Bengal, Assam and Maharashtra were in fact romantic relations, according to The Indian Express.

Almost in half of the "romantic cases" (46.6%), the girl was between 16 to 18 years, the study finds.

The study echoes Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud's call to address criminalization of adolescents in consensual sexual relations.

D Y Chandrachud made the call to lawmakers to address the "growing concern" over teenage boys getting enmeshed in POCOS cases.

Researchers Swagata Raha and Shruti Ramakrishnan studied 7,064 POCSO judgments registered between 2016 and 2020 in the states of Assam, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

They reportedly found that 1,715 cases court documents as revealing "admission of consensual relationship between the complainant and the accused".

"The might of the criminal justice system was instead invoked more often to control and deter girls from being in relationships against the wishes of their family, and to coerce the girls to return home if they had eloped. In a few cases, it also served as a device to compel the accused to honour his promise of marriage," the study reportedly said.

Although the POSCO does not allow consensual sexual activity for minors, the courts often reportedly take lenient view and hence acquittals were norm in "romantic cases", while convictions were recorded in exceptional cases.