The Supreme Court on Friday asked the government to respond to a plea filed by the National Commission for Women (NCW) to raise the minimum age of marriage for Muslim women to be on par with persons belonging to other faiths.
A Bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud sought the government's response in four weeks.
The legal age for marriage is 18 years for women and 21 years for men. Marriage below this age is considered to be a child marriage, which is an offence.
Marriageable age of a Muslim woman is considered to be over 15 years under the personal law.
The petition has sought the age of marriage of Muslim women to be brought in consonance with the statutory law, raising the legal question whether personal law could override statutory provisions.
The NCW has argued that allowing the practice would expose Muslim women to abuse and harassment. It said that allowing a Muslim woman to marry below the age of 18 was arbitray and discriminatory. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) did not permit marriage below the age of 18, the petition said.
"A person who has attained puberty may be biologically capable of reproduction. However, the same does not imply that the said person is mentally and psychologically mature enough to get married and physically mature to engage in sexual acts and consequently, bear children," the petition said.
