Muslim girls can marry in 15 years: Hijab, after triple talaq, why there is a ruckus on the age of marriage?

The date of debate has been approved in the country\'s highest court against another rule of \'Muslim Personal Law\'. This time the issue is the age of marriage for Muslim girls.

On 17 October 2022, the Supreme Court fixed 9 November 2022 for a hearing in this matter. In Bhaskar Explainer we will know all the aspects related to this issue…

First of all, know what is the whole matter.

In June 2022, a case involving a 16-year-old minor Muslim girl and a 21-year-old Muslim boy reached the Punjab-Haryana High Court. In the petition, both had told that they had recently married. The families of both of them are against this marriage, so they should be given security.

After the hearing, the High Court said, \"As per the law, Muslim girls are married under \'Muslim Personal Law\'. In such a situation, at the age of 15, a Muslim girl becomes eligible for marriage.

A single bench of Justice JS Bedi also said that the boy and the girl had performed the marriage against the wishes of their family members. Just because of this they cannot be deprived of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. In this way, he was given protection by the court.

NCPCR challenged this decision of the High Court in the Supreme Court

This decision of the Punjab-Haryana High Court has been challenged by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in the Supreme Court. On 17th October i.e. Monday, Supreme Court Judge S. K Kaul and Abhay S. A two-member bench of Oka issued a notice in the matter.

The court has appointed senior advocate Rajasekhar Rao as amicus curiae for legal aid in this case. Along with this, the date of November 9 has been fixed for a hearing in this matter.

The High Court had given the decision citing \'Principles of Mohammedan Law\'

Punjab-Haryana High Court Justice J. s. In her judgment delivered in June, Bedi had said that according to Article 195 of Sir Dinsha Fardunji Mulla\'s book \'Principles of Mohammedan Law\', marriage between a 16-year-old girl and a 21-year-old boy is legal.

At the same time, challenging this decision, NCPCR said that the High Court has allowed child marriage by citing Muslim Personal Law. This decision of the court in a way violates the law made in 2006 to prevent child marriage, which bans the marriage of girls below the age of 18 years.

Not one but two important laws are against \'Muslim Personal Law\'

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, on behalf of the petitioner, has said in the Supreme Court that the age of marriage of girls has been mentioned as 15 years in the Muslim Personal Law, which is against two important laws of the country.

First: Child Marriage Prohibition Act 2006

Second: POCSO Act 2012

According to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006, marriage under the age of 18 is a legal offense. Not only this, but people who forcibly get such marriages are also criminals. However, there is no such provision in this law that will supersede any other law. Therefore, under personal law, Muslim girls are allowed to get married in 15 years.

At the same time, under the POCSO Act 2012, girls below the age of 18 are considered minors. It is a criminal offense to have intimate by marrying a minor girl. This is the reason why Muslim Personal Law is against both these laws.

Mainly 3 laws for marriage in India: Virag Gupta

Supreme Court advocate and constitutional expert Virag Gupta say that there are mainly 3 types of laws in India for the marriage of boys and girls of different religions…

First: The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 is for Hindus. Under Section 2, (1) (b) of this Act, marriages of Jain, Buddhist, and Sikh religions also take place. According to section 5 (iii) of this law, the minimum age of marriage for a girl child should be 18 years and that of a boy is 21 years. Apart from this, the marriage of Sikhs is also done under the Anand Karaj Marriage Act 2012.

Second: The Christian Marriage Act of 1872 is for the marriage of Christians. According to this law also, the minimum age for marriage for a girl should be 18 years and for boys 21 years.

Third: There is the Special Marriage Act of 1954. Under this, people of two religions or any religion can register their marriage. According to this law also, the minimum age for marriage for a girl should be 18 years and for boys 21 years.

Apart from this, Muslim boys and girls are married according to their Muslim personal law, about which law has not been made by the Parliament.

There has been a debate about the age of marriage even before.

Virag Gupta says that the debate over the marriage age of boys and girls is not new in the country. Under the Indian Majority Act in India, everyone who is 18 years old is considered an adult. That\'s why they are given an adult franchise.

For this reason, there was a discussion that the age of marriage of both the girl and the boy should be made equal. After this, instead of reducing the age of marriage of the boy from 21 to 18, it was decided to increase the age of marriage of the girl from 18 to 21 years. The Central Government has also approved a proposal for this. Legislation in this regard is still being considered.

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