NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday accepted amuse a sensitive socio-religious concern connecting to sanctification of marital relationship of a small woman, on her attaining puberty, by the Muslim individual law and annulled the precedential worth of a Punjab and Haryana high court order that validated marital relationship of a 15-year-old girl.On a petition submitted by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights calling this order violative of the mandate of the Pocso Act, a bench of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha stated it would not like to stay the HC judgment as it would cause problems for the minor married girl, but bought that the HC judgment would not be trusted by any court in similar matters in future.Appearing for NCPCR, lawyer basic Tushar Mehta said, Girls of 14, 15, and 16 years of age are getting wed.
Can these be warranted and sanctified on the ground that the personal law allows such marriage of minor women? Can one plead custom to go ahead with such marital relationships? The CJI-led bench said the woman was being required to wed her maternal uncle and that is the reason why she eloped with this individual and got married.
If we stay the HC order, then it would lead to the lady being sent to her moms and dads, which she doesnt want.
It stated it would examine the concern of law raised by NCPCR.
It appointed senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao as amicus curiae to assist the court.In the case challenged by NCPCR, the HC had said, A coordinate bench of this court (HC) had actually observed that the marriage of a Muslim woman continues to be governed by the individual law of Muslims and has relied upon the Principles of Mohammedan Law by Sir Dinshah Fardunji Mulla, more so Article 195 thereof, and after considering the same, it has actually been observed that 15 years is the age of the age of puberty of a Muslim woman, and on her own desire and consent, after achieving adolescence can wed a person of her option and such a marriage ...
Another SC bench, headed by Justice Sanjay K Kaul, had actually amused a petition by NCPCR raising exact same concern in regard to a judgment of Delhi HC.
The SG said judgments similar to the one gone by Punjab and Haryana HC were likewise passed Meghalaya HC.