Two conflicting laws — the Restraint of Child Marriage Act, 1929 and the Muslim personal law — have been cited before the Bombay HC to contest the validity of a 14-year-old Muslim girl’s marriage.
Two conflicting laws — the Restraint of Child Marriage (RCM) Act, 1929 and the Muslim personal law — have been cited before the Bombay high court to contest the validity of a 14-year-old Muslim girl’s marriage. The one that prevails will decide whether the girl (name withheld) will go to her husband’s house or not.
The girl’s mother, Zakia Begum, and five others including her husband-to-be, had moved the court through a habeas corpus
petition, seeking the custody of the girl who was sent to AD Bawla Children’s Welfare Home in Versova.
The family was all set to get the girl married to Arshad Khan, a mechanic, from Ghatkopar on December 10 last year. However, a few hours before the marriage, officers from the Ghatkopar police station raided the girl’s house in Aurangabad, based on a complaint filed by her maternal uncle Aarif Shaikh.
While several members of the girl’s family and also the Khans were booked under the RCM Act, the girl was taken to the shelter home.
Seeking the girl’s custody and quashing of the FIR lodged by Shaikh, Zakia has contended before the court that the age for marriage as mandated under the RCM Act was not applicable to Muslims as the Muslim personal law permitted the marriage of girls after they attain puberty. The action of the police, Zakia stated, was a violation of her fundamental right to profess a religion of her choice as enshrined in the Constitution of India under Article 25.
Her advocates Prakash Wagh and Vivek Sudade cited a 1938 judgment with respect to professing a religion and prescription for the age of marriage.
Justice Ranjana Desai and justice Mridula Bhatkar, however, sought recent judgments pertaining to the permissible age for marriage. “We want to see whether personal law will override general law,” justice Desai said.
Additional public prosecutor Usha Kejriwal said that the permissible age for marriage, 18 years, as prescribed in the RMC Act was applicable to all irrespective of religion.
The court has asked both the prosecution and defence to submit judgments of precedents in law which will assist the court to take a decision regarding the girl’s marriage. Zakia and the other petitioners have urged the court to declare the application of RCM Act to Muslims as ultra vires.
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