On Tuesday, the Supreme Court set aside a Calcutta High Court order that had advised adolescent girls to control their sexual urges [In Re: Right to Privacy of Adolescent].
A Bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan not only overturned the High Court’s ruling but also provided detailed guidance on how courts should draft their judgments.
The verdict stemmed from a suo motu case initiated after the Calcutta High Court issued a controversial ruling that urged adolescent girls to “control” their sexual urges rather than “giving in to two minutes of pleasure.” The ruling sparked controversy for advocating a ‘duty/obligation based approach’ for teenagers and implying different responsibilities for adolescent girls and boys.
In December 2023, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter, criticizing the High Court’s remarks as sweeping, objectionable, irrelevant, preachy, and unwarranted. The Supreme Court also noted that the High Court’s ruling sent the wrong message.
The original case before the Calcutta High Court involved a division bench of Justices Chitta Ranjan Dash and Partha Sarathi Sen, who had acquitted a young man convicted of raping a minor girl with whom he had a romantic relationship. The Supreme Court has now reinstated the conviction and stated that a committee of experts will determine the appropriate sentence.
Senior Advocates Madhavi Divan and Liz Mathew served as amici curiae in the case, while Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi and advocate Astha Sharma represented the State of West Bengal, which had also appealed against the High Court’s verdict.
