Anchan, V., Janardhana, N., & Sagar, K. J. V.2020-11-022020-11-022020Anchan, V., Janardhana, N., & Sagar, K. J. V. (2020). POCSO Act, 2012: Consensual Sex as a Matter of Tug of War Between Developmental Need and Legal Obligation for the Adolescents in India. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 0253717620957507.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0253717620957507#:~:text=The%20POCSO%20Act%2C%202012%2C%20is,abetment%20to%20commit%20such%20offense.http://hdl.handle.net/11212/4887Adolescents strive for greater freedom in making their life choices, more so with selecting a romantic partner.7 But in India, because of the deep-rooted socio-cultural influence, the family plays a vital role in determining the life choices of the adolescents, including the selection of their life partners. Most often, there is a strong resistance from the families to the romantic relationships of adolescents. As a reaction to such resistance, in most of the cases, to secure the relationship, adolescents run away with their romantic partners4, 8 and end up in the clutches of the legal framework. As per the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, popularly known as the POCSO Act, the legal age of consent is 18 years, and this prohibits any form of sexual engagement even in the context of a romantic relationship.92012 and the criminal law (amendmentenInternational ResourcesIndiachild sexual abuseadolescentsconsensual sexual actPOCSO Actdevelopmental needcompliant victimArticle