Judicial Safeguards Against the Misuse and Weaponization of the POCSO Act

While the POCSO Act is a vital legislation enacted to protect children from sexual abuse, courts must remain vigilant against its growing misuse as a weapon to penalize romantic consensual adolescent relationships. Families frequently employ the stringent non-bailable provisions and statutory age presumptions of the POCSO Act to criminalize young couples and settle personal or social scores. In cases involving consensual teenage relationships, courts must carefully evaluate the factual context, assess mutual affection, and give due consideration to the victim's uncoerced statements. Rigid application of child protection laws to genuine adolescent relationships risks causing severe perversity of justice and wrongful incarceration of young individuals. Judicial discretion must be exercised wisely during bail hearings to balance the statutory protection of minors with the practical realities of adolescent autonomy. Misusing specialized child protection statutes undermines the noble intent of the law and converts an instrument of protection into a tool of oppression. (The State of Uttar Pradesh v. Anurudh & Anr. | 2026 INSC 47)