Muslim marriage doesn't remove criminality of physical relations with minor: Delhi HC
The Delhi High Court ruled that marriage under Muslim personal law does not grant immunity from criminal prosecution for sexual relations with a minor. The court emphasized that the POCSO Act takes precedence over personal law when the victim is under 18 years of age.
Why it matters
Clarifies the legal hierarchy between personal religious laws and child protection statutes in India, reinforcing the protection of minors.
A marriage claimed to be valid under Muslim personal law cannot confer immunity from penal law for establishing physical relations with a minor wife, the Delhi High Court has held.
The High Court said the POCSO framework would be substantially weakened if an adult could answer a prosecution concerning a girl below the age of 18 simply by producing a marriage certificate recognised by personal law.
"The statutory protection would then depend not upon the age of the child, but upon whether a marriage had been arranged before the sexual relationship was discovered. That would turn the legislation on its head," Justice Sanjeev Narula said in a September 23 order.
The Court's observations came while refusing to quash a criminal case registered against a man for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor, his wife.
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