Supreme Court of India: Under the Muslim Personal Law (Muslim Personal Law), Muslim girls are given the right to enter into this marriage. This judgment of the High Court will be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
New Delhi: According to the country's marriage laws, girls aged 18 are considered adults for marriage. However, recently a case was heard in the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding the marriage of young Muslim women. Hearing that case, the court said that a minor Muslim girl can marry a man of her choice at the age of 15 when she attains puberty. Under the Muslim Personal Law (Muslim Personal Law), Muslim girls are given the right to enter into this marriage. This judgment of the High Court will be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has also sent a notice to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights following this judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. A division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Abhay S Oka appointed senior advocate R Rajashekhar Rao as friend of the court to assist in the case. The case will be heard on November 7. According to the matrimonial laws of the country, the legal age for marriage of Indian women is 18 years. The Anti-Child Marriage Act makes marriage of a girl below 18 years of age illegal and a crime. Meanwhile, according to the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, it is a punishable offense to engage in sexual intercourse with a young person under the age of 18, even with consent. This is where the controversy has arisen with the judgment given by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on June 13. Meanwhile, the National Commission for Child Protection (NCPCR) filed an appeal against this verdict in the Supreme Court through lawyer Swarupma Chaturvedi. The hearing was held in the Supreme Court on Monday based on that application.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the NCPCR in the apex court, made it clear that Punjab and Haryana have applied for a stay on two paragraphs of the High Court judgment. He further said, in this regard, Prevention of Child Marriage Act, POCSO Act and Indian Penal Code have implications. Incidentally, the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed a Muslim couple to marry under the Muslim Personal Law. In that case, the age of the wife was 16 years. was a year However, the court said that according to Muslim personal law, since the young woman has passed the age of majority, she has the right to be legally married even if she is a minor. The High Court said, "The marriage of a Muslim girl is governed by the Muslim Personal Law." However, the commission argued that the High Court's ruling meant child marriage was being allowed in the country and the Prevention of Child Marriage Act, 2006 was being violated. Moreover, the National Child Protection Commission claimed that this judgment of the High Court violates the POCSO Act.
Incidentally, a Muslim couple appealed to the court seeking protection of their lives and freedom from their families. The married man was 21 and the woman was 16. The Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed the plea saying that as per Salim Personal Law, since the young woman has passed the age of majority, she has the right to enter into a valid marriage even if she is a minor. So the couple does not need any security. Meanwhile, opposing the High Court's verdict, the Commission has argued that the High Court's verdict promotes child marriage in the country. The Supreme Court said it will reconsider the matter based on this petition.
