New Delhi, June 14: Who’s a minor? What is the age of consent? What is the marriageable age in the country? In a tangle over conflicting interpretation of these questions by courts, the government has asked the national commission for women (NCW) to reach out to the stake-holders and thrash out a solution.
It’s confusion compounded indeed. While the Indian Penal Code (IPC) says a girl below 16 years is a minor and can’t be a consensual partner to sex, the marriage law gives a green signal to a husband to have sexual relationship with his wife who may be 15 years. All this, while the Child Marriage Act prevents marriage of girls and boys below the age of 18 and 21.
“Various sections of the IPC list the minimum age for having sex and thereby, of marriage, differently. It ranges from 13 years to 18 years and to 21 years. This must end,” NCW chairperson Girija Vyas said.
To have a single, common law in place, the government aims to fix the minimum age of marriage for a girl at 18 and a boy at 21 years.
According to Vyas, jurisprudence has “ambiguous” provisions on the issue of women having sex. Under the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, the right age for a girl’s marriage and for her to make a choice to have sex is 18 years, while various sections of the IPC treat women differently on this.
Vyas said the “ambiguity happened because the Child Marriage Restraint Act was amended, while the corresponding IPC sections were not fully changed”.
She referred to IPC provisions that deal with rape, marital rape and consent to point out the ambiguity. The NCW chief said the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act has added to the confusion on the age of adulthood.
It defines an adult as a person who is 18 years old (and can marry). “This violated the spirit of the Child Marriage Restraint Act according to which a man has to be 21 years to be called an adult and thereby have the right to marry,” she added.
Lawyer Meenakshi Lekhi said marriageable age for boys and girls should be 21 or more. She feels that being eligible to vote at 18 is one thing, managing family affairs is another.
–Agencies