Parents pledge won’t marry off bright teenager,HC may see which law governs Muslim minors

Zakia’s daughter,14,was to marry last December,but her uncle filed a complaint with the police against a violation of the Child Marriage Restriction Act (now replaced by Prohibition of Child Marriage Act or PCMA).

A division Bench of Justice D B Bhosale and Justice A R Joshi today interviewed the girl in their chamber where she said she did not wish to get married since she wanted to pursue her education and desired to study medicine.

“We found her to be very intelligent and it is very unfortunate that the parents wanted to marry her off,” Justice Bhosale said.

Bhosale observed that the girl even knew the name of the woman sarpanch of her village near Aurangabad while her mother could not remember it. The girl,who had scored 71 per cent the previous year,has been handed over to her parents; the court felt there was no point in keeping her in a Child Welfare Home as her studies would suffer and her exams are due next month.

The court has also sought a reply from the police whether they are ready to drop the charges against the girl’s mother and five others since they have given an undertaking.

The judges sought to know if the offence is compoundable or not. It was informed that the offences slapped under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act were cognisable and non-bailable. The court hinted that it can stay the prosecution till the petition is finally decided on.

Lawyers Prakash Wagh and Vivek Sudhade,appearing for the petitioners,pointed out that the marriage had not taken place,so the offence has not been committed yet. Since the girl has been handed over to the parents,the court has sought to know if some officer can be appointed for keeping track.

Advocate Mihir Desai and additional solicitor general D J Khambata submitted that an injunction would be appropriate if the parents violate the undertaking and decide to marry her off. The injunction would make such a marriage null and void,they told the court.

Senior counsel Yusuf Muchhala,appearing for the All India Muslim Personal Law Board,told the court that the board had issues with Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

The court has adjourned the hearing till April 1 to see if it should go into the larger issue of deciding whether a Muslim girl child can be married,which would mean looking into which of the two – Muslim Personal Law or Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) – is applicable in such cases.