Legal system should respect teen love: HC

Delhi High Court Advocates Compassionate Approach in Adolescent Love Cases

• Advocates for understanding over punishment in adolescent love cases.

• Highlights the need for a legal system to protect young individuals’ rights to love while ensuring their safety and well-being.

• Adjudged a case of sexual assault against a man under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act by a 16-year-old girl’s father.

• Justice Jasmeet Singh deemed the trial court’s decision to acquire the man “well-reasoned” and did not require interference.

• Noted that the girl’s consent was a key factor in the relationship.

• Suggests that societal and legal views on adolescent love should emphasize the rights of young individuals to form consensual, non-exploitation relationships.