The Supreme Court on Monday overturned a controversial Calcutta High Court judgment, which had asked adolescent girls to control their sexual urges and protect their right to the integrity of their bodies.
A bench headed by Justice AS Oka also issued guidelines for the judges on how to write judgments in cases involving adolescents. It stressed that special sensitivity and precaution will be required in cases related to adolescents.
The Supreme Court also overturned the Calcutta High Court's decision to acquit a man who was convicted for raping a minor girl, with whom he had a "romantic affair", according to Bar and Bench.
While upholding the conviction, the Supreme Court bench said a committee of experts would decide on the punishment for the man in the rape case.
The Supreme Court's verdict came after the Calcutta High Court last year asked adolescent girls to control their sexual urges and should not fall for two minutes of pleasure. The High Court judgement triggered controversy as it called for a "duty/obligation-based approach" for adolescents.
In its judgment, the Calcutta High Court called for the decriminalisation of consensual sexual acts involving adolescents above 16 years.
For female adolescents, the High Court judgment stated, "It was the duty/obligation of every female adolescent to protect her right to the integrity of her body, protect her dignity and self-worth, thrive for the overall development of herself, transcending gender barriers, control sexual urge/ urges, as in the eyes of society she is the loser when she gives in to enjoy the sexual pleasure of hardly two minutes, protect her right to the autonomy of her body and her privacy."
"For male adolescents, they should respect the aforesaid duties of a young girl or woman, and he should train his mind to respect a woman, her self-worth, her dignity and privacy, and the right to autonomy of her body," the court ruled.
In January, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the Calcutta High Court over its controversial ruling and said that such judgments "were absolutely wrong".
"It's not only about these observations, but the findings of the court. Writing such judgments is absolutely wrong. What kind of principles have the judges invoked?" the Supreme Court had said.
