Supreme Court dismisses NCPCR's plea against Haryana HC ruling that Muslim girl can marry after attaining puberty

New Delhi [India], September 4 (HBTV): The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea filed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) against a 2022 judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had held that a 16-year-old Muslim girl can enter into a valid marriage with a Muslim man and granted protection to the couple from threats.

A bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan observed that the NCPCR was a stranger to the litigation and had no locus standi to challenge the High Court’s ruling.

The bench remarked, ‘NCPCR has no locus to challenge such an order... if two minor children are protected by the High Court, how can NCPCR challenge such an order? It is strange that the NCPCR, which is for protecting the children, has challenged such an order.’

The counsel for NCPCR told the court that the issue raised was whether a girl who has not attained the age of 18 can be considered capable of entering into a legal marriage merely on the basis of personal law. However, dismissing the plea, the bench said, ‘No question of law arises, you challenge in an appropriate case.’

The court also dismissed other petitions filed by the NCPCR against similar High Court rulings.

The NCPCR had argued that Muslim personal law allowing child marriages conflicted with the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006, which is a secular law applicable to all communities. It had highlighted provisions of PCMA and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) to contend that no child below 18 years can consent to marriage or sexual activity.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2022 had ruled, citing Muslim Personal Law, that a Muslim girl attaining puberty—presumed at 15 years—was competent to enter into a marriage contract with a person of her choice.

Earlier, another bench of the Supreme Court had directed that the High Court’s order allowing a 15-year-old Muslim girl’s marriage should not be relied upon as precedent in other cases.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) had also approached the apex court, seeking to make the minimum marriage age for Muslim girls the same as that for women of other religions—18 years. The NCW argued that permitting marriage at puberty was arbitrary, discriminatory, and violative of penal laws.

Currently, the legal age for marriage in India is 18 years for women and 21 years for men. For Muslim women, however, personal law permits marriage upon attaining puberty, generally presumed at 15 years.

The NCPCR, in its plea, had sought to ensure uniform enforcement of child protection laws, contending that statutory safeguards such as PCMA and POCSO should prevail over personal laws to protect minors.

(ANI)