NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Chief Justice DY Chandrachud urged the Parliament to consider the growing concern regarding the age of consent under the POCSO Act. The Chief Justice said this while delivering the keynote speech at the inaugural session of National Stakeholders Consultation on Child Protection.

Justice DY Chandrachud shared concerns over the POCSO Act, which criminalizes all sexual acts under the age of 18, irrespective of whether there is factual consent between two minors in the same case. The panel discussed the verdicts of POCSO courts in cases of consensual teenage sex.

The POCSO Act criminalizes all sexual acts involving persons under the age of 18, regardless of whether there is factual consent between two minors in a particular case. The Chief Justice said that there is growing concern around the issue and it should be considered by the legislature.