In a worrying trend, the Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that different high courts are dealing with Child Marriages differently, requiring a law to be made on the matter. The case arises out of a judgment of the Punjab High Court, which has legally and validly allowed a Muslim girl of 15 years of age to marry under the tenet of Muslim personal law.
For the Centre of India, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the top court that different high courts are passing different directions for the matter, and special leave petitions about these directions are increasing. Mehta stressed the expeditious disposal of such cases to ensure that there are no regional biases.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights also intervened and approached the High Court to seek the setting aside of this order by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Earlier, the apex court had refrained from other courts from treating the Punjab High Court order as a precedent because the issue under consideration has large legal repercussions.
In the instant case, Muslim girls were given protection by the Punjab and Haryana High Court restraining two couples, one of whom is a minor above fifteen years of age and has married against the wish of their parents.
The parents had later sought the intervention of the high court to address the issue of these marriages, but their application was refused, and the fate of the girls was handed over to the so-called husbands.
The listing of the matter concerning child marriages in India to be addressed next week by the Supreme Court means that the court wants to handle this issue, and it is rather complicated and highly sensitive. A major role of the court, therefore, lies in the upholding of the law and its protection of the girl child regardless of the conflicting personal religious rights.
Since the law still balances all the questions connected with child marriages, the approaching decision of the Supreme Court will be awaited as the Supreme Court tries to achieve the optimal balance between the right of the person to decide on his/her fate and the common interest in the protection of the rights of the minors.
