The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to an early hearing of a plea seeking an authoritative pronouncement on whether Muslim personal law allowing child marriages will prevail over the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, reported PTI.
The petition was filed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
On Tuesday, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for the petitioner, urged the court to hear the plea at the earliest since High Courts are expressing differing views on the matter.
“The issue is whether child marriage is permitted or not in one religion or another religion,” Mehta told the court. “We are arguing on constitutional principles.”
In 2022, the Punjab and Haryana High Court held that a Muslim girl, after attaining puberty, can enter into a lawful marriage despite not being 18 years of age, the minimum age for marriage under secular laws, reported Live Law.
However, the Kerala High Court in the same year ruled that a marriage between Muslims under personal law is not excluded from the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra on Tuesday said that it will settle the matter at once, reported Live Law.
In January, the top court, while issuing notice on the petition, had observed that the decision by the Punjab and Haryana High Court should not be relied upon as a precedent in any other case.
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