Mizoram Law Commission Mulls Over Age of Consensual Sex

Aizawl, Jul 10 : The Mizoram Law Commission today mulled over a proposal to reduce the age of consent from 16 years for girls in regard to rape in accordance with the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and decided to take up wider consultations before taking a final decision, an official statement said.

There have been proposals from intellectuals and human rights activists in the state to lessen the age of consent for girls from 16 to 14 years in view of the current lifestyle of Mizo society.

A judicial magistrate, during a recent seminar on rape and sexual abuse pointed out that she had to imprison a man for rape while the 15-year-old victim told the court that they had consensual sex.

The law in force stipulated that it was a case of rape if a girl was below 16 years of age even in the case of consensual sex.

The Law Commission meeting, chaired by its Chairman R. Lalrinawma also decided that constitution of a state Minority Commission was not necessary as all the tribes in Mizoram were recognised as minority communities by the National Commission for Minorities Act.