Marriage of minor girls : SC to check legality of personal laws

Subject: Polity

Section: Constitutional framework

Concept:

The Supreme Court decided to examine whether girls as young as 15 years can enter into wedlock on the basis of custom or personal law when such marriages constitute an offence in statutory law.
The Kerala High Court had recently observed that provisions of POCSO would apply if the bride or groom was a minor, irrespective of the validity or otherwise of the marriage.
Sc issued a formal notice on the petition filed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) against a recent order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court that a girl, on attaining puberty or the age of 15 years and above, could be married on the basis of Muslim personal law, irrespective of the provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Separate petition has been filed by the National Commission for Women (NCW) and National Commission for protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to make the minimum age of marriage for Muslim women on par with persons belonging to other faith.
It has been argued that the different ages for marriage violated the fundamental rights of equality (Article 14), protection against discrimination (Article 15), and dignity of life (Article 21) of citizens and went against India’s commitment under the convention on elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW).

Article 139A

The SC has power under Article 139A to transfer to itself, cases involving the same or substantially the same questions of law pending before two or more high courts.

Current Laws Related to Marriage in India:

For Hindus, the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, sets 18 years as the minimum age of marriage for the bride and 21 years as the minimum age for the groom.
However, child marriages are not illegal even though they can be declared void at the request of the minor in the marriage.
In Islam, the marriage of a minor who has attained puberty or 15 years is considered valid, while they still minor.
The Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 also prescribe 18 and 21 years as the minimum age of consent for marriage for women and men respectively.