The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation that wanted to lower the legal age for men to marry from 21 years to 18. A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice SK Kaul and Justice KM Joseph also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the petitioner.

The PIL had been filed by advocate Ashok Pande, who contended that men were eligible to vote at the age of 18, but were not allowed to marry, Live Law reported.

The petitioner challenged the provisions of the Child Marriage Restraint Act, the Special Marriage Act and the Hindu Marriage Act, which deal with the minimum marriageable age for men, PTI reported. Pande said that the provisions violate various fundamental rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution, including Article 15 of the Constitution, which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.

However, in addition to dismissing the petition, the court also rejected the plea that the fine be waived. The bench said the PIL cannot be a matter of “public interest”. “If any 18-year-old person approaches us with such a petition, then we will give him the cost deposited by you,” the court added.