Marriage of minor couple valid,says HC

In a rare judgment that may have far-reaching consequences,Delhi High Court on Wednesday came to the rescue of two minors who had got married against their parents wishes,ruling that their wedding was valid. The court ruled that though the marriage flouted one of clauses in Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act which lays down the minimum age of marriage as 18 years for the bride and 21 for the groom this in itself did not make the marriage void.

A division bench comprising Justices B D Ahmed and V K Jain said the clause which laid down the minimum age (clause III,section 5),wasnt one of the conditions stipulated in the Hindu Marriage Act that would render a marriage void.A Hindu marriage solemnized in contravention of Clause III,Section 5 of the HMA... does not fall in the category of voidable marriages, the bench ruled.The court said that even under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act,the marriage involving minors had not been declared as invalid.The Act just says that the marriage can be annulled on this ground if a plea is made by the minor partner.

It is clear that where,earlier,a child marriage may not have been voidable under personal law,as in the case of the Hindu Marriage Act,by virtue of the Section 3 of the Prohibition of Child marriage Act,it has explicitly been made voidable at the option of the child spouse.But nobody other than a party to the marriage can petition for its annulment, the court said.It said the legislature while drafting the provisions of the Act had consciously left out marriages in contravention of the age stipulation from the category of invalid marriages.

The petitioner,Jitendra Kumar Sharma,who is not yet 18 years old,had sought the courts intervention after a criminal case was registered against him on the complaint of his 16-year-old wifes family.They alleged that the boy had abducted her.

The court ordered quashing of the FIR,stating that Poonam (the bride) has stated that she left her home on her own and of her own free will... continuing proceedings pursuant to them would be an exercise in futility.
(source-toi)

























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