New Delhi, June 15: The Delhi High Court has ordered the parents of a minor girl, who was married off to 35-year-old widower, to bring her back to their house and keep her till she attains the age of 18.
Justices A K Sikri and Ajit Bharioke directed the husband and the parents of the minor girl to ensure that the marriage was not consummated.
The court’s order came on a petition filed by an NGO, demanding cancellation of the marriage which they allegedly was performed by selling the 17 year-old to the widower with two daughters of 3 and 7 years.
The court said the purpose and rationale behind the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, was that there should not be a marriage of a child at a tender age as he/she is neither psychologically nor physically fit to get married. There could be various psychological and other implications of such marriage, particularly if the child happens to be a girl, the court observed.
The NGO had contended that father Vijay pal, a labourer living in Najafgarh, had sold her off to the man. Deviating from earlier judgements, which allowed minor brides to stay with their husbands, the court said, “In actuality, child marriage is a violation of human rights, compromising the development of girls and often resulting in early pregnancy and social isolation.” The court, however, refused to declare the marriage void, as the legality of such marriages is already being adjudicated by a larger Bench of the court.
——-Agencies