SC seeks Centre’s response to plea for uniform age of marriage for women | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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SC seeks Centre’s response to plea for uniform age of marriage for women

ByAbraham Thomas, New Delhi
Dec 10, 2022 12:23 AM IST

The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from the Centre on a petition calling for a uniform age of marriage of 18 years be fixed for all women, regardless of their religion or personal laws. The plea also urged the court to end the “discrimination” existing between genders on the age of marriage by lowering the age for men to get married from 21 years to be at par with girls.

The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from the Centre on a petition calling for a uniform age of marriage of 18 years be fixed for all women, regardless of their religion or personal laws. The plea also urged the court to end the “discrimination” existing between genders on the age of marriage by lowering the age for men to get married from 21 years to be at par with girls.

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A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justice PS Narasimha issued notice to the Centre and the Law Commission on a petition filed by the National Commission for Women (NCW).

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The petition, argued by senior advocate Geeta Luthra, questioned how penal laws in the country that make marriage of women below 18 years, regardless of their consent, a punishable offence do not apply to Muslim personal laws under which girls are eligible to get married on attaining puberty, i.e., 15 years of age.

The bench directed the responses to be filed within four weeks as NCW highlighted the dichotomy in law where Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code treats any act of rape against a woman below 18 years, with or without her consent, to be an offence. Additionally, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, makes the marriage of a girl below 18 years to be a punishable offence. Sexual assault against a girl child below 18 years is declared to be punishable under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Terming the Muslim personal laws as “arbitrary, irrational and discriminatory”, NCW, in its petition filed through advocate Nitin Saluja, said: “Penal provisions are age-centric and not religion-centric or personal law centric...The non-application of the provisions of the penal laws adversely and negatively impacts the fundamental rights of women who are governed by Muslim personal law and are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.”

NCW also sought to end the distinction of marriageable age between men and women.

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