The Supreme Court on Wednesday scheduled November 12 for a continuous hearing on the contentious issue of the statutory age of consent for adolescents, observing that the matter must be dealt with in its entirety rather than in a “piecemeal” manner.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N V Anjaria made it clear that the case — which involves complex questions under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) — would be taken up for multiple days of uninterrupted hearings.

“We would prefer if the matter starts and continues rather than having it in piecemeal,” the bench remarked, while directing the matter to be listed for comprehensive hearings in November. The bench also indicated it would address all related iss

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