The Supreme Court of India is currently examining how the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act is applied in cases where teenagers choose to run away together voluntarily.

印度最高法院目前正在審查，在青少年選擇自願私奔的情況下，《保護兒童免受性犯罪》（POCSO）法案應如何適用。

The court began this review on its own initiative to protect the privacy rights of adolescents. This follows a 2024 decision that overturned an earlier ruling by the Calcutta High Court. Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan questioned whether the state can effectively stop teenagers from eloping. Furthermore, they noted that parents often start criminal cases simply to protect the family's reputation. The judges argued that the ages of 15 to 18 are a time for experimentation; therefore, it may be unfair to label these voluntary relationships as sexual assault or exploitation.

法院主動展開此次審查，旨在保護青少年的隱私權。此前，2024 年的一項決定推翻了加爾各答高等法院早前的裁決。B V Nagarathna 與 R Mahadevan 法官質疑，國家是否能有效阻止青少年私奔。此外，他們指出，父母往往僅為了保護家庭名譽而提起刑事訴訟。法官認為 15 至 18 歲是探索的階段；因此，將這些自願關係標記為性侵犯或剝削可能並不公平。

Legal expert Madhavi Divan emphasized that the current system is failing. She provided an example of a minor who entered a voluntary relationship with an adult, which resulted in a child and a legal settlement, despite the strict laws. The court observed that when the age of consent was raised from 16 to 18 in 2012, it essentially made common social behaviors, such as adolescent relationships, illegal. To prevent teenagers from being imprisoned for consensual unions, counsel suggested creating a monitoring system. While the government mentioned that new recommendations could be used across the country, the court noted that existing state governments and child rights committees already have the power to provide this oversight.

法律專家 Madhavi Divan 強調，目前的系統已經失效。她舉例一名未成年人與成年人建立自願關係，儘管法律嚴苛，但最終導致孩子出生並達成法律和解。法院觀察到，2012 年將法定同意年齡從 16 歲提高到 18 歲後，基本上使青少年關係等常見的社交行為變得非法。為了防止青少年因合意結合而被監禁，法律顧問建議建立監控系統。雖然政府提到新的建議可用於全國，但法院指出，現有的州政府和兒童權利委員會已有權力提供此類監督。

The Supreme Court has set a further hearing for July 17 to decide on practical steps to protect adolescents and prevent the law from being misused.

最高法院已將下次聆訊定於 7 月 17 日，以決定保護青少年並防止法律被濫用的實際步驟。