Goa, Aug. 2 -- A fresh legal and social debate has emerged in India after senior advocate Indira Jaising filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the existing age of sexual consent, currently set at 18. The move has reopened discussions about whether consensual sex between teenagers aged 16 to 18 should continue to be treated as a criminal offence.

In her plea, Jaising argued that consensual sexual activity between adolescents should not be equated with abuse. "The purpose of age-based laws is to prevent exploitation, not to criminalise consensual, age-appropriate intimacy," she stated in her written submissions to the apex court.

However, the federal government has strongly opposed the petition, asserting that lowering the age...