The Delhi High Court has ruled that personal laws do not exempt individuals from criminal liability under penal statutes. This decision came as the court directed a Muslim man to stand trial under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. The case involves allegations of the man engaging in sexual relations with his underage wife. The ruling underscores the legal stance that personal beliefs or practices cannot override established criminal laws aimed at protecting minors.
Couple Seeks High Court Intervention Over FIR
A couple has approached the high court to have a First Information Report (FIR) against them quashed. They assert that their marriage was consensual and supported by their families. The woman involved emphasized that she was not coerced into the marriage or subjected to any non-consensual sexual relations.
A bench of justice Sanjeev Narula held that personal law may determine whether a marriage has been contracted and the civil consequences that follow, but cannot supply an exception to criminal law when Parliament has provided none. Her age came to light when she was eight months pregnant and visited a government hospital in Delhi for treatment, following which the police registered a case against the man. “A marriage does not advance a child’s age.
The judge made the observation while refusing to quash a first information report (FIR) registered against a Muslim man for rape under Section 64(1) of BNS and Section 6 of the Pocso Act. The woman was little over 16 years of age when she married the man, who was 28, in 2024, according to the plea. A person who is 16 before the ceremony remains 16 afterwards. For POCSO and section 63 BNS, that fact is determinative of the legal capacity to consent to sexual act,” the court held, refusing to quash the criminal case. The court noted that the Pocso framework would be substantially weakened if an adult could answer a prosecution concerning a girl below 18 simply by producing a marriage ceremony recognised by personal law.
In the present case, the court said the personal law cannot prevail over the statutory protections accorded to children under the Pocso Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The case presented a unique situation before the court where the husband and wife sought quashing of the criminal case claiming to be validly married under the Muslim personal law.
