Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
$message = 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
$stackFrame = (int) 1
$trace = [
	(int) 0 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ServerRequest.php',
		'line' => (int) 2421,
		'function' => 'deprecationWarning',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead.'
		]
	],
	(int) 1 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
		'line' => (int) 73,
		'function' => 'offsetGet',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'catslug'
		]
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Controller/Controller.php',
		'line' => (int) 610,
		'function' => 'printArticle',
		'class' => 'App\Controller\ArtileDetailController',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 3 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 120,
		'function' => 'invokeAction',
		'class' => 'Cake\Controller\Controller',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 94,
		'function' => '_invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/BaseApplication.php',
		'line' => (int) 235,
		'function' => 'dispatch',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\BaseApplication',
		'object' => object(App\Application) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 162,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 88,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 96,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 51,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Server.php',
		'line' => (int) 98,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\MiddlewareQueue) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/webroot/index.php',
		'line' => (int) 39,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Server',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Server) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	]
]
$frame = [
	'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
	'line' => (int) 73,
	'function' => 'offsetGet',
	'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
	'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {
		trustProxy => false
		[protected] params => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] data => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] query => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] cookies => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _environment => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] url => 'latest-news-updates/raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406/print'
		[protected] base => ''
		[protected] webroot => '/'
		[protected] here => '/latest-news-updates/raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406/print'
		[protected] trustedProxies => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] _input => null
		[protected] _detectors => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _detectorCache => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] stream => object(Zend\Diactoros\PhpInputStream) {}
		[protected] uri => object(Zend\Diactoros\Uri) {}
		[protected] session => object(Cake\Http\Session) {}
		[protected] attributes => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] emulatedAttributes => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] uploadedFiles => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] protocol => null
		[protected] requestTarget => null
		[private] deprecatedProperties => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	},
	'type' => '->',
	'args' => [
		(int) 0 => 'catslug'
	]
]
deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
$message = 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
$stackFrame = (int) 1
$trace = [
	(int) 0 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ServerRequest.php',
		'line' => (int) 2421,
		'function' => 'deprecationWarning',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead.'
		]
	],
	(int) 1 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
		'line' => (int) 74,
		'function' => 'offsetGet',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'artileslug'
		]
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Controller/Controller.php',
		'line' => (int) 610,
		'function' => 'printArticle',
		'class' => 'App\Controller\ArtileDetailController',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 3 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 120,
		'function' => 'invokeAction',
		'class' => 'Cake\Controller\Controller',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 94,
		'function' => '_invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/BaseApplication.php',
		'line' => (int) 235,
		'function' => 'dispatch',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\BaseApplication',
		'object' => object(App\Application) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 162,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 88,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 96,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 51,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Server.php',
		'line' => (int) 98,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\MiddlewareQueue) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/webroot/index.php',
		'line' => (int) 39,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Server',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Server) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	]
]
$frame = [
	'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
	'line' => (int) 74,
	'function' => 'offsetGet',
	'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
	'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {
		trustProxy => false
		[protected] params => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] data => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] query => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] cookies => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _environment => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] url => 'latest-news-updates/raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406/print'
		[protected] base => ''
		[protected] webroot => '/'
		[protected] here => '/latest-news-updates/raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406/print'
		[protected] trustedProxies => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] _input => null
		[protected] _detectors => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _detectorCache => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] stream => object(Zend\Diactoros\PhpInputStream) {}
		[protected] uri => object(Zend\Diactoros\Uri) {}
		[protected] session => object(Cake\Http\Session) {}
		[protected] attributes => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] emulatedAttributes => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] uploadedFiles => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] protocol => null
		[protected] requestTarget => null
		[private] deprecatedProperties => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	},
	'type' => '->',
	'args' => [
		(int) 0 => 'artileslug'
	]
]
deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

            } else {
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

	'status' => (int) 200,
	'contentType' => 'text/html',
	'headers' => [
		'Content-Type' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	],
	'file' => null,
	'fileRange' => [],
	'cookies' => object(Cake\Http\Cookie\CookieCollection) {},
	'cacheDirectives' => [],
	'body' => '<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
</span></code></span>
<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
</span></span></code></pre><pre id="cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-context" class="cake-context" style="display: none;">$viewFile = &#039;/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp&#039;
$dataForView = [
	&#039;article_current&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 15281,
		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh&#039;,
		&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls&#039; parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&amp;quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&amp;quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl&#039;s testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &amp;quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&amp;quot; the judge observed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&amp;quot; the judge said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Times View&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 1 June, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-Court/articleshow/13694982.cms&#039;,
		&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
		&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 16,
		&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406&#039;,
		&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
		&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 15406,
		&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;
	
	},
	&#039;articleid&#039; =&gt; (int) 15281,
	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;Law and Justice&#039;,
	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;

Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.

The Protection of Children from...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls&#039; parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&amp;quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&amp;quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl&#039;s testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &amp;quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&amp;quot; the judge observed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&amp;quot; the judge said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Times View&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
	&#039;SITE_URL&#039; =&gt; &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;,
	&#039;site_title&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change&#039;,
	&#039;adminprix&#039; =&gt; &#039;admin&#039;
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 15281,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls&#039; parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&amp;quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&amp;quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl&#039;s testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &amp;quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&amp;quot; the judge observed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&amp;quot; the judge said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Times View&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 1 June, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-Court/articleshow/13694982.cms&#039;,
	&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
	&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 16,
	&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406&#039;,
	&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
	&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 15406,
	&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
		(int) 0 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
		&#039;*&#039; =&gt; true,
		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; false
	],
	&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;

}
$articleid = (int) 15281
$metaTitle = &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;Law and Justice&#039;
$metaDesc = &#039;

Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.

The Protection of Children from...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls&#039; parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&amp;quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&amp;quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl&#039;s testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &amp;quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&amp;quot; the judge observed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&amp;quot; the judge said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Times View&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
$lang = &#039;English&#039;
$SITE_URL = &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;
$site_title = &#039;im4change&#039;
$adminprix = &#039;admin&#039;</pre><pre class="stack-trace">include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51</pre></div></pre>latest-news-updates/raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406.html"/>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
    <link href="https://im4change.in/css/control.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
          media="all"/>
    <title>LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh | Im4change.org</title>
    <meta name="description" content="

Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &quot;undemocratic&quot; and &quot;regressive&quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &quot;tool for the police to harass minors&quot;.

The Protection of Children from..."/>
    <script src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-migrate.min.js"></script>
    <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">

        $(document).ready(function () {
            var img = $("img")[0]; // Get my img elem
            var pic_real_width, pic_real_height;
            $("<img/>") // Make in memory copy of image to avoid css issues
                .attr("src", $(img).attr("src"))
                .load(function () {
                    pic_real_width = this.width;   // Note: $(this).width() will not
                    pic_real_height = this.height; // work for in memory images.
                });
        });
    </script>
    <style type="text/css">
        @media screen {
            div.divFooter {
                display: block;
            }
        }

        @media print {
            .printbutton {
                display: none !important;
            }
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="98%" align="center">
    <tr>
        <td class="top_bg">
            <div class="divFooter">
                <img src="https://im4change.in/images/logo1.jpg" height="59" border="0"
                     alt="Resource centre on India's rural distress" style="padding-top:14px;"/>
            </div>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td id="topspace">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr id="topspace">
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-bottom:1px solid #000; padding-top:10px;" class="printbutton">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td width="100%">
            <h1 class="news_headlines" style="font-style:normal">
                <strong>Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh</strong></h1>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="100%" style="font-family:Arial, 'Segoe Script', 'Segoe UI', sans-serif, serif"><font size="3">
                <br /><div align="justify">Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &quot;undemocratic&quot; and &quot;regressive&quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &quot;tool for the police to harass minors&quot;.<br /><br />The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.<br /><br />&quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls' parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.<br /><br />While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.<br /><br />&quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.<br /><br />The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.<br /><br />According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.<br /><br />While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl's testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.<br /><br />The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&quot; the judge observed.<br /><br />The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.<br /><br />&quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&quot; the judge said.<br /><br />The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.<br /><br /><em>Times View<br /></em><br />We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.</div>               </font>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-top:1px solid #000; border-bottom:1px solid #000;padding-top:10px;">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table></body>
</html>'

}
$maxBufferLength = (int) 8192
$file = '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php'
$line = (int) 853
$message = 'Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853'
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emit() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48
Cake\Http\Server::emit() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 141
[main] - ROOT/webroot/index.php, line 39

Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Code Context
            $response->getStatusCode(),

            ($reasonPhrase ? ' ' . $reasonPhrase : '')

        ));
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

	'status' => (int) 200,
	'contentType' => 'text/html',
	'headers' => [
		'Content-Type' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	],
	'file' => null,
	'fileRange' => [],
	'cookies' => object(Cake\Http\Cookie\CookieCollection) {},
	'cacheDirectives' => [],
	'body' => '<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
</span></code></span>
<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
</span></span></code></pre><pre id="cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-context" class="cake-context" style="display: none;">$viewFile = &#039;/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp&#039;
$dataForView = [
	&#039;article_current&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 15281,
		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh&#039;,
		&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls&#039; parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&amp;quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&amp;quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl&#039;s testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &amp;quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&amp;quot; the judge observed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&amp;quot; the judge said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Times View&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 1 June, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-Court/articleshow/13694982.cms&#039;,
		&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
		&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 16,
		&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406&#039;,
		&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
		&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 15406,
		&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;
	
	},
	&#039;articleid&#039; =&gt; (int) 15281,
	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;Law and Justice&#039;,
	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;

Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.

The Protection of Children from...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls&#039; parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&amp;quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&amp;quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl&#039;s testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &amp;quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&amp;quot; the judge observed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&amp;quot; the judge said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Times View&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
	&#039;SITE_URL&#039; =&gt; &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;,
	&#039;site_title&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change&#039;,
	&#039;adminprix&#039; =&gt; &#039;admin&#039;
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 15281,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls&#039; parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&amp;quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&amp;quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl&#039;s testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &amp;quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&amp;quot; the judge observed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&amp;quot; the judge said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Times View&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 1 June, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-Court/articleshow/13694982.cms&#039;,
	&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
	&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 16,
	&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406&#039;,
	&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
	&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 15406,
	&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
		(int) 0 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
		&#039;*&#039; =&gt; true,
		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; false
	],
	&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;

}
$articleid = (int) 15281
$metaTitle = &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;Law and Justice&#039;
$metaDesc = &#039;

Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.

The Protection of Children from...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls&#039; parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&amp;quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&amp;quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl&#039;s testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &amp;quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&amp;quot; the judge observed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&amp;quot; the judge said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Times View&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
$lang = &#039;English&#039;
$SITE_URL = &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;
$site_title = &#039;im4change&#039;
$adminprix = &#039;admin&#039;</pre><pre class="stack-trace">include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51</pre></div></pre>latest-news-updates/raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406.html"/>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
    <link href="https://im4change.in/css/control.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
          media="all"/>
    <title>LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh | Im4change.org</title>
    <meta name="description" content="

Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &quot;undemocratic&quot; and &quot;regressive&quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &quot;tool for the police to harass minors&quot;.

The Protection of Children from..."/>
    <script src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-migrate.min.js"></script>
    <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">

        $(document).ready(function () {
            var img = $("img")[0]; // Get my img elem
            var pic_real_width, pic_real_height;
            $("<img/>") // Make in memory copy of image to avoid css issues
                .attr("src", $(img).attr("src"))
                .load(function () {
                    pic_real_width = this.width;   // Note: $(this).width() will not
                    pic_real_height = this.height; // work for in memory images.
                });
        });
    </script>
    <style type="text/css">
        @media screen {
            div.divFooter {
                display: block;
            }
        }

        @media print {
            .printbutton {
                display: none !important;
            }
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="98%" align="center">
    <tr>
        <td class="top_bg">
            <div class="divFooter">
                <img src="https://im4change.in/images/logo1.jpg" height="59" border="0"
                     alt="Resource centre on India's rural distress" style="padding-top:14px;"/>
            </div>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td id="topspace">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr id="topspace">
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-bottom:1px solid #000; padding-top:10px;" class="printbutton">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td width="100%">
            <h1 class="news_headlines" style="font-style:normal">
                <strong>Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh</strong></h1>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="100%" style="font-family:Arial, 'Segoe Script', 'Segoe UI', sans-serif, serif"><font size="3">
                <br /><div align="justify">Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &quot;undemocratic&quot; and &quot;regressive&quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &quot;tool for the police to harass minors&quot;.<br /><br />The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.<br /><br />&quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls' parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.<br /><br />While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.<br /><br />&quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.<br /><br />The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.<br /><br />According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.<br /><br />While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl's testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.<br /><br />The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&quot; the judge observed.<br /><br />The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.<br /><br />&quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&quot; the judge said.<br /><br />The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.<br /><br /><em>Times View<br /></em><br />We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.</div>               </font>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-top:1px solid #000; border-bottom:1px solid #000;padding-top:10px;">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table></body>
</html>'

}
$reasonPhrase = 'OK'
header - [internal], line ??
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emitStatusLine() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emit() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 54
Cake\Http\Server::emit() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 141
[main] - ROOT/webroot/index.php, line 39

Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
Code Context
                    $value

                ), $first);

                $first = false;
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

	'status' => (int) 200,
	'contentType' => 'text/html',
	'headers' => [
		'Content-Type' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	],
	'file' => null,
	'fileRange' => [],
	'cookies' => object(Cake\Http\Cookie\CookieCollection) {},
	'cacheDirectives' => [],
	'body' => '<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
</span></code></span>
<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
</span></span></code></pre><pre id="cakeErr67f2d317e0a06-context" class="cake-context" style="display: none;">$viewFile = &#039;/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp&#039;
$dataForView = [
	&#039;article_current&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 15281,
		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh&#039;,
		&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls&#039; parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&amp;quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&amp;quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl&#039;s testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &amp;quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&amp;quot; the judge observed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&amp;quot; the judge said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Times View&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 1 June, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-Court/articleshow/13694982.cms&#039;,
		&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
		&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 16,
		&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406&#039;,
		&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
		&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 15406,
		&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;
	
	},
	&#039;articleid&#039; =&gt; (int) 15281,
	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;Law and Justice&#039;,
	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;

Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.

The Protection of Children from...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls&#039; parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&amp;quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&amp;quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl&#039;s testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &amp;quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&amp;quot; the judge observed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&amp;quot; the judge said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Times View&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
	&#039;SITE_URL&#039; =&gt; &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;,
	&#039;site_title&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change&#039;,
	&#039;adminprix&#039; =&gt; &#039;admin&#039;
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 15281,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls&#039; parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&amp;quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&amp;quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl&#039;s testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &amp;quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&amp;quot; the judge observed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&amp;quot; the judge said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Times View&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 1 June, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-Court/articleshow/13694982.cms&#039;,
	&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
	&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 16,
	&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406&#039;,
	&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
	&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 15406,
	&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
		(int) 0 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
		&#039;*&#039; =&gt; true,
		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; false
	],
	&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;

}
$articleid = (int) 15281
$metaTitle = &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;Law and Justice&#039;
$metaDesc = &#039;

Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.

The Protection of Children from...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &amp;quot;undemocratic&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;regressive&amp;quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &amp;quot;tool for the police to harass minors&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls&#039; parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&amp;quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&amp;quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl&#039;s testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &amp;quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&amp;quot; the judge observed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&amp;quot; the judge said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Times View&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
$lang = &#039;English&#039;
$SITE_URL = &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;
$site_title = &#039;im4change&#039;
$adminprix = &#039;admin&#039;</pre><pre class="stack-trace">include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51</pre></div></pre>latest-news-updates/raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406.html"/>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
    <link href="https://im4change.in/css/control.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
          media="all"/>
    <title>LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh | Im4change.org</title>
    <meta name="description" content="

Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &quot;undemocratic&quot; and &quot;regressive&quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &quot;tool for the police to harass minors&quot;.

The Protection of Children from..."/>
    <script src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-migrate.min.js"></script>
    <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">

        $(document).ready(function () {
            var img = $("img")[0]; // Get my img elem
            var pic_real_width, pic_real_height;
            $("<img/>") // Make in memory copy of image to avoid css issues
                .attr("src", $(img).attr("src"))
                .load(function () {
                    pic_real_width = this.width;   // Note: $(this).width() will not
                    pic_real_height = this.height; // work for in memory images.
                });
        });
    </script>
    <style type="text/css">
        @media screen {
            div.divFooter {
                display: block;
            }
        }

        @media print {
            .printbutton {
                display: none !important;
            }
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="98%" align="center">
    <tr>
        <td class="top_bg">
            <div class="divFooter">
                <img src="https://im4change.in/images/logo1.jpg" height="59" border="0"
                     alt="Resource centre on India's rural distress" style="padding-top:14px;"/>
            </div>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td id="topspace">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr id="topspace">
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-bottom:1px solid #000; padding-top:10px;" class="printbutton">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td width="100%">
            <h1 class="news_headlines" style="font-style:normal">
                <strong>Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh</strong></h1>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="100%" style="font-family:Arial, 'Segoe Script', 'Segoe UI', sans-serif, serif"><font size="3">
                <br /><div align="justify">Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &quot;undemocratic&quot; and &quot;regressive&quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &quot;tool for the police to harass minors&quot;.<br /><br />The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.<br /><br />&quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls' parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.<br /><br />While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.<br /><br />&quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.<br /><br />The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.<br /><br />According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.<br /><br />While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl's testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.<br /><br />The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&quot; the judge observed.<br /><br />The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.<br /><br />&quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&quot; the judge said.<br /><br />The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.<br /><br /><em>Times View<br /></em><br />We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.</div>               </font>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-top:1px solid #000; border-bottom:1px solid #000;padding-top:10px;">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table></body>
</html>'

}
$cookies = []
$values = [
	(int) 0 => 'text/html; charset=UTF-8'
]
$name = 'Content-Type'
$first = true
$value = 'text/html; charset=UTF-8'
header - [internal], line ??
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emitHeaders() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emit() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 55
Cake\Http\Server::emit() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 141
[main] - ROOT/webroot/index.php, line 39

<head>

    <link rel="canonical" href="<?php echo Configure::read('SITE_URL'); ?><?php echo $urlPrefix;?><?php echo $article_current->category->slug; ?>/<?php echo $article_current->seo_url; ?>.html"/>

    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>

$viewFile = '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp'
$dataForView = [
	'article_current' => object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		'id' => (int) 15281,
		'title' => 'Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh',
		'subheading' => '',
		'description' => '<br />
<div align="justify">
Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &quot;undemocratic&quot; and &quot;regressive&quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &quot;tool for the police to harass minors&quot;.<br />
<br />
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.<br />
<br />
&quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls' parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.<br />
<br />
While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.<br />
<br />
&quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.<br />
<br />
The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.<br />
<br />
According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.<br />
<br />
While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl's testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.<br />
<br />
The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&quot; the judge observed.<br />
<br />
The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.<br />
<br />
&quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&quot; the judge said.<br />
<br />
The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.<br />
<br />
<em>Times View<br />
</em><br />
We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.
</div>',
		'credit_writer' => 'The Times of India, 1 June, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-Court/articleshow/13694982.cms',
		'article_img' => '',
		'article_img_thumb' => '',
		'status' => (int) 1,
		'show_on_home' => (int) 1,
		'lang' => 'EN',
		'category_id' => (int) 16,
		'tag_keyword' => '',
		'seo_url' => 'raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406',
		'meta_title' => null,
		'meta_keywords' => null,
		'meta_description' => null,
		'noindex' => (int) 0,
		'publish_date' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		'most_visit_section_id' => null,
		'article_big_img' => null,
		'liveid' => (int) 15406,
		'created' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'modified' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'edate' => '',
		'tags' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		'category' => object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		'[new]' => false,
		'[accessible]' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		'[dirty]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[original]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[virtual]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[hasErrors]' => false,
		'[errors]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[invalid]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[repository]' => 'Articles'
	
	},
	'articleid' => (int) 15281,
	'metaTitle' => 'LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh',
	'metaKeywords' => 'Law and Justice',
	'metaDesc' => '

Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &quot;undemocratic&quot; and &quot;regressive&quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &quot;tool for the police to harass minors&quot;.

The Protection of Children from...',
	'disp' => '<br /><div align="justify">Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &quot;undemocratic&quot; and &quot;regressive&quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &quot;tool for the police to harass minors&quot;.<br /><br />The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.<br /><br />&quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls' parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.<br /><br />While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.<br /><br />&quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.<br /><br />The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.<br /><br />According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.<br /><br />While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl's testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.<br /><br />The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&quot; the judge observed.<br /><br />The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.<br /><br />&quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&quot; the judge said.<br /><br />The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.<br /><br /><em>Times View<br /></em><br />We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.</div>',
	'lang' => 'English',
	'SITE_URL' => 'https://im4change.in/',
	'site_title' => 'im4change',
	'adminprix' => 'admin'
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	'id' => (int) 15281,
	'title' => 'Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh',
	'subheading' => '',
	'description' => '<br />
<div align="justify">
Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &quot;undemocratic&quot; and &quot;regressive&quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &quot;tool for the police to harass minors&quot;.<br />
<br />
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.<br />
<br />
&quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls' parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.<br />
<br />
While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.<br />
<br />
&quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.<br />
<br />
The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.<br />
<br />
According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.<br />
<br />
While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl's testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.<br />
<br />
The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&quot; the judge observed.<br />
<br />
The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.<br />
<br />
&quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&quot; the judge said.<br />
<br />
The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.<br />
<br />
<em>Times View<br />
</em><br />
We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.
</div>',
	'credit_writer' => 'The Times of India, 1 June, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-Court/articleshow/13694982.cms',
	'article_img' => '',
	'article_img_thumb' => '',
	'status' => (int) 1,
	'show_on_home' => (int) 1,
	'lang' => 'EN',
	'category_id' => (int) 16,
	'tag_keyword' => '',
	'seo_url' => 'raising-age-of-consent-for-sex-to-18-regressive-undemocratic-court-smriti-singh-15406',
	'meta_title' => null,
	'meta_keywords' => null,
	'meta_description' => null,
	'noindex' => (int) 0,
	'publish_date' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	'most_visit_section_id' => null,
	'article_big_img' => null,
	'liveid' => (int) 15406,
	'created' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	'modified' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	'edate' => '',
	'tags' => [
		(int) 0 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	'category' => object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	'[new]' => false,
	'[accessible]' => [
		'*' => true,
		'id' => false
	],
	'[dirty]' => [],
	'[original]' => [],
	'[virtual]' => [],
	'[hasErrors]' => false,
	'[errors]' => [],
	'[invalid]' => [],
	'[repository]' => 'Articles'

}
$articleid = (int) 15281
$metaTitle = 'LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh'
$metaKeywords = 'Law and Justice'
$metaDesc = '

Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &quot;undemocratic&quot; and &quot;regressive&quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &quot;tool for the police to harass minors&quot;.

The Protection of Children from...'
$disp = '<br /><div align="justify">Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years &quot;undemocratic&quot; and &quot;regressive&quot;, a trial court feared it would act as a &quot;tool for the police to harass minors&quot;.<br /><br />The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers.<br /><br />&quot;Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls' parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party,&quot; said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week.<br /><br />While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said.<br /><br />&quot;Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools,&quot; the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court.<br /><br />The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow.<br /><br />According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife.<br /><br />While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl's testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love.<br /><br />The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. &quot;With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope,&quot; the judge observed.<br /><br />The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl.<br /><br />&quot;Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex,&quot; the judge said.<br /><br />The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns.<br /><br /><em>Times View<br /></em><br />We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.</div>'
$lang = 'English'
$SITE_URL = 'https://im4change.in/'
$site_title = 'im4change'
$adminprix = 'admin'

include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51

Raising age of consent for sex to 18 regressive, undemocratic: Court-Smriti Singh

Terming a new law that raises the age of consent for sex from 16 to 18 years "undemocratic" and "regressive", a trial court feared it would act as a "tool for the police to harass minors". The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( PCSOA), passed by Parliament in the recently concluded session, criminalizes all sex by teenagers. "Such a move would open the floodgates for prosecution of boys for offences of rape on the basis of complaints by girls' parents irrespective of whether the girl was a consenting party," said additional sessions judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed earlier this week. While the court made it clear that it was against teenage sex and shared the concern of parents and the government, it said raising the age bar was not a solution. Imparting sex education in schools was a better option, it said. "Good virtues cannot be inculcated and good conscience cannot be imbibed in a child by legal provisions. It would be better and wiser to leave this job to parents and school teachers... Children need to be imparted sex education in the schools," the judge said while sending a copy of the order to the secretary, law department and chairman of the National Law Commission as a suggestion from the court. The observations were made while acquitting one Sandeep Paswan, facing trial for kidnapping and raping a minor girl who had eloped with him. The two had married at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Lucknow. According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had gone missing from her house in January 2011. Her father then reported the matter to the police on February 17, 2011 and an FIR was registered. The girl was found in August 2011 from a village in Uttar Pradesh where she was living with Sandeep as his wife. While absolving Sandeep of the charges, the court noted that it was clear from the girl's testimony that she eloped with him as they were in love. The court said, with the advent of cable television, internet and rapid changes in biological factors, children were getting exposed to knowledge about sex and marital relations at an early age. "With the result, cupid strikes them at an early age, before they attain majority.... Since parents are always opposed to such an alliance, may be rightly so, the loving couple elope," the judge observed. The court said even boys in some cases become victims as they do not understand the consequences of their actions and are sometimes lured by the girl. "Such cases should be an eye opener for the worthy lawmakers of our country, who, I understand, are contemplating raising the age limit for consensual sex from 16 to 18 years. Gone are the days when a child of 16 or 17 years of age was ignorant about sex and the desire to have sex," the judge said. The order comes on the heels of another judge, additional sessions judge Kamini Lau raising similar concerns. Times View We are in complete agreement with the observation of this trial court that the new law is likely to become a tool to harass teenagers rather than one that protects them. Unfortunately, the law has already been passed by Parliament and given presidential assent. We would still urge our lawmakers to reconsider what they have done and amend the law to ensure that consensual teenage sex is not criminalized. Neither Parliament nor the government should see this as a matter of their prestige. What is important is what is good for our young and that should remain the prime consideration. Sticking to a bad law does not enhance the authority of the state, it diminishes it.