Ashok Bagriya, Mumbai: Marrying at 18 can be a tricky decision, but the Law Commission wants that option to be left to boys.

The point of being old enough to vote but not being mature enough to get married has been raised by the Law Commission. The body proposed that 18-year-old boys can now be men. "There is no scientific basis to deny them this facility,” says Commission member Kirti Singh.

The same logic is also being applied for girls. The Commission wants to raise the age for consensual sex in case of women from 15 to 16. This means that girls will have the right to have sex when they turn 16.

Any sexual act perpetrated on or by a girl below 16, even consensual, would be considered rape. To prevent child marriages, all matrimonial alliances under 16 years will also be considered illegal.

For years, there has been a persistent demand to do away with the anomaly in law but now the onus is now on the Central Government to act upon these recommendations.