Overview

• A special POCSO court in Mumbai granted bail to a 40-year-old teacher accused of sexual misconduct with a teenager, applying evolving judicial discretion under non-statutory bail guidelines.
• The Supreme Court is set to resume arguments on August 20 in a challenge to lower the age of sexual consent from 18 to 16 with proposed close-in-age exemptions.
• The Government of India has filed briefs warning that reducing the consent age could undermine safeguards for minors and heighten the risk of trafficking and abuse.
• In its May ruling, the Supreme Court emphasized that Article 21 rights—dignity, autonomy, privacy and liberty—must shape judicial responses to adolescent conduct and endorsed non-custodial outcomes for consensual cases.
• The Law Commission and legal experts advocate nuanced reforms including clear bail criteria, close-in-age exemptions, mandatory sex education and expanded psychosocial and educational support for victims.