Muslim personal law is not above the law of the country, the marriage of the girl at the age of 15 was invalidated by the Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has drawn a line between Muslim Personal Law and the POCSO Act. In two separate cases, the court has rejected the argument that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act will not apply to a minor Muslim girl who is above the age of 15 years. The court was hearing a bail plea of ​​a 27-year-old youth who had married a 17-year-old girl and she became pregnant.

A bench of Justice Rajendra Badamikar rejected the arguments of the petitioner in which he was referring to Muslim personal law. The petitioner had to say that marriage after the age of 15 is not a crime according to the law of Muslims. In its order, the High Court said, "Such arguments cannot be accepted as the POCSO Act is a special law and according to it, intimate activity is not allowed before the age of 18 years." The court, however, granted bail to the petitioner. The court said that the accused had produced all the documents before the trial court.

The court has said this when there are different views in the courts regarding the marriage of Muslim minor girls. On September 30, the Punjab and Haryana High Court held that the marriage of a 15-year-old Muslim girl is also valid. In this case, a case was registered against the accused under sections 9 and 10 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. Apart from this, sections 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act were also imposed on him.

On 16 June 2022, the victim had a checkup done at the primary health center. Investigation revealed that she was pregnant. At that time he was 17 years old. After this, the police sub-inspector complained about the accused at KR Puram police station. In another case, the court rejected the bail plea of ​​a 19-year-old man. A case was registered above under the POCSO Act. It is alleged that he had taken a 16-year-old girl with him to Mysore. After this, he was raped twice in the hotel room.

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