Tag: Law Commission

Official Secrets Act (OSA)

Reducing Age Of Consent To 16 Will Adversely Affect Child Marriage, Trafficking: Law Commission

By LokMarg

The Law Commission of India has submitted its report on the reduction of the age of consent from 18 to 16 and stated that reducing the age of consent will have a direct and negative bearing on the fight against child marriage and child trafficking.

The report further stated that in order to ensure that children get the best environment to grow and flourish, it is necessary to increase awareness regarding child sexual abuse and the varied forms it can take.

Further, as a part of their school curriculum, children can be made aware of their bodies and the various physiological and psychological changes they experience as a part of growing up. Information about sex and the ill effects of engaging in it at a young age can better equip children to make healthier and safer choices in life, stated the commission.

Comprehensive and age-appropriate sex education should be made a mandatory part of the school curriculum and government programs like Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram should be utilised to inform and empower the adolescent population of India, the report said.

Law Commission in its report to the Ministry of Law and Justice further suggests that adolescents in the age bracket of 16 to 18 years still remain children who ought to enjoy higher protection of the law and the age of consent cannot be disturbed either by reducing it or introducing a limited exception.

It further states that even though close-in-age exemptions have been largely considered inadequate to deal with the present situation, the Commission considers that the age difference between the victim-child and the accused in such romantic cases ought to be a relevant factor that is to be carefully considered by the court.

However, in light of the existing ground realities, if the age difference between the victim child and the accused is less than three years, the Commission is of the considered view that the introduction of judicial discretion in the matter of sentencing can help alleviate the plight of those truly aggrieved.

A child can be prosecuted as an adult in cases of heinous offences under the JJ Act. Offences defined under Sections 3 and 7 of the POCSO Act are heinous in nature and there is always the danger of the child being tried as an adult even though the sexual act had been consensual. Thus, changes are also required to be brought within the JJ Act in order to ensure that in such cases of romantic relationships, the child is not tried as an adult and gets the benefit of a trial in accordance with the JJ Act, suggested Law Commission of India. (ANI)

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UCC objection to law commission

AIMPLB Opposes UCC, Sends Objections Draft To Law Commission

By LokMarg

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Wednesday handed over a draft of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to the Law Commission, listing its objections to the proposed legislation and highlighting the rights that the enshrined for the community in the Constitution.

The working committee of the Board had approved the draft response on the UCC, and, on Wednesday, it was presented for discussion at a virtual general meeting of the Board that began at 10 am.
Earlier, the Secretary of the Law Commission of India had asked AIMPLB to submit a proper response, after soliciting views and ideas from the public, regarding the UCC. Responding to the same, the secretary general of AIMPLB said the issue was examined earlier and the commission’s predecessor reached a conclusion that the UCC was “neither necessary nor desirable”.

The panel also sought six months’ time to prepare an appropriate response by religious organisations, individuals, and public-spirited persons. Previously, the AIMPLB had passed a resolution at its executive meeting saying that the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was not possible as it would be an ‘unnecessary’ Act.

It added that the Places of Worship Act 1991, should be “maintained and well-implemented” and religious conversion was a matter of “Freedom of religion”.

Earlier, a meeting of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, convened on Monday, sought the views of the Department of Legal Affairs, the Legislative Department, and the Law Commission of India on the June 14 notice issued by the Law Commission, inviting views of stakeholders on the Uniform Civil Code.

Opposition MPs said at the meeting it was necessary to keep in mind that the UCC is not just about one family law, but about the matters related to every religion, caste, and community of the society, which is why all sections of the society must be kept in mind.

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which had been a hot topic that had polarised opinions over the last 4 years, hit the forefront yet again after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong case for the implementation of uniform legislation at a recent address.

PM Modi said the country cannot run on two laws and that Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was in keeping with the founding principles and ideals of the Constitution.

“Today people are being instigated in the name of UCC. How can the country run on two (laws)? The Constitution also talks of equal rights…Supreme Court has also asked to implement the UCC. These (Opposition) people are playing vote bank politics,” PM Modi said while addressing booth-level workers in Bhopal. (ANI)

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