A and B both are of 16 years of age. A entices B for marriage and takes her to another city. What…

The intended facts are enticement of a sixteen-year-old girl out of her lawful guardian’s keeping without the guardian’s consent, which is kidnapping under section 361. Her personal consent does not replace the guardian’s consent. A’s being sixteen does not create the under-seven or immature-under-twelve general exception, although juvenile-justice procedure applies. Abduction instead requires force or deceitful means. Guardian consent and removal from lawful keeping remain elements that the prosecution must establish; a consensual journey approved by the guardian would not satisfy section 361.

Current law: BNS section 137 uses child, defined as a person under eighteen, for kidnapping from lawful guardianship. The old IPC thresholds were under sixteen for boys and under eighteen for girls. BNS commenced on 1 July 2024 subject to section 358 savings; the child-justice procedure remains separate.