Criticising the governments move to lower the age of consent for consensual sex from 18 to 16,the CPI on Sunday said such a move would encourage child marriage and other related social ills. We differ from this position as we need to see the consequences of such a law. First,the minimum age for marriage for girls is 18 years and for boys 21. If age of consent is reduced to 16,it will encourage child marriage,which is still a problem in India, says a resolution adopted by the partys National Council meeting here. The government has proposed to lower the age of consent from 18 to 16 in the Criminal Law Amendment Bill,2013. The party said there was a need to prevent the bride from giving birth to a child before she turned 18 the legal age of marriage and hence,having a lower age of consent for sex was clearly contradictory. In this situation,National Council of CPI considers that the status quo in this regard should be maintained, the resolution said. The three-day meeting of the CPIs National Council concluded on Sunday.
