High Court’s big order on child marriage: The law of the country is above Sharia, now no excuse will work

Allahabad High Court has given a historic and very important decision regarding child marriage, which will be applicable across the country. The court has clearly made it clear that Muslim Personal Law (Sharia) or any other personal law cannot violate the rules of ‘Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006’ (PCMA). The court also made it clear that the POCSO Act, 2012, which protects children from sexual crimes, is far above any personal law and no community or individual can be above it.

What is the whole matter?

This decision has come in a case related to an FIR registered in Bulandshahr. Actually, the matter came to light when the police and the rescue team of Child Line tried to stop the marriage of a 16-year-old minor girl. During this, the accused not only assaulted the team but also obstructed the government work. After this incident, 19 people had filed a petition in the High Court to cancel the FIR registered against them. But Justice J.J. The bench of Justice Munir and Justice Achal Sachdev rejected this petition outright.

‘Marriage under the age of 18 is a legal offence’

The High Court in its comment bluntly said that the minimum legal age for marriage in India is the same for all citizens. The marriage of a girl below 18 years of age cannot be considered valid by taking recourse to any personal law. The court made it clear that if a girl below 18 years of age is married, it is a direct violation of PCMA. Not only this, the physical relations established after such a marriage will come under the purview of the POCSO Act and will be considered a crime in any case.

Why is this decision important?

The court also acknowledged that laws like PCMA and POCSO have been made on the basis of public interest, scientific understanding and national policy. Therefore, no community has the right to secede or get special exemption from these laws. The Court appreciated the work of the police and the Child Line team, saying that they had performed their duty in stopping a possible crime in time. After this decision, it has now become clear that the law to stop the evil practice of child marriage cannot be limited to any personal belief or religion.