THE SUPREME COURT ON TUESDAY dismissed a plea by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (‘NCPCR’) challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling from 2022 which held that a 16-year-old Muslim girl could enter into a valid marriage under Muslim personal law and granted protection to the couple.
A Division Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan noted the child rights body had no locus to file such an appeal.
“NCPCR has no locus to challenge such an order,” the Bench remarked, “If two minor children are protected by the High Court, how can NCPCR challenge such an order? It is strange that the NCPCR, which is meant to protect children, has filed this petition.”.
The counsel for NCPCR argued that the matter raised a substantial legal question: whether a girl under 18 could be considered legally competent to marry merely on the basis of personal law. The Court, however, rejected this contention, stating, “No question of law arises; you can challenge in an appropriate case.”
Other similar petitions by the Commission against High Court orders were also dismissed.
