New Delhi, January 9: In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court has urged the Centre to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act by introducing a “Romeo-Juliet” clause. This would protect genuine adolescent relationships from being unfairly penalized under the law’s stringent provisions, which have been widely misused.

The bench, comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh, emphasized the need to address the increasing misuse of the POCSO Act and called for the creation of a mechanism to hold individuals accountable for using the law to settle personal scores. The court also ruled that high courts cannot mandate medical age determination for victims during the bail process in such cases.

The ruling was accompanied by a directive to the Secretary, Law, Government of India, to consider the implementation of steps, including the introduction of the “Romeo-Juliet” clause, to curb this issue.