Delhi HC seeks Centre's response over plea to declare all child marriages void ab-initio

The petitioner said she was fraudulently married to the man at the wedding ceremony she considered a “normal ceremony at home” adding the marriage never consummated.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has sought the stand of the Central Government on a petition seeking to declare all child marriages void ab-initio.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla issued notices to the Ministry of Law and Justice and the National Commission for Women asking for their response over the issue. The matter has been schedule for next hearing on September 13. The notice was issued after a woman named Ayesha Kumari moved an application in an already pending petition.

The petitioner said she was fraudulently married to the man at the wedding ceremony she considered a “normal ceremony at home” adding the marriage never consummated. She said she graduated in Bachelor of Education from GGSIPU between 2016-2018 and then sat for the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) and then for the Masters course at Jamia Millia Islamia. The respondent, she said took her to Gujarat with him in 2020 claiming that she is his wife.

However, she ran away from home and filed a petition in Delhi High Court. The petitioner also alleged that she is now receiving threats from her family and in-laws. While hearing the petition on Monday, the court, apart from issuing notice to the Center, also directed the Delhi Police to provide security to the petitioner. The petition also sought a declaration that Section 3(1) of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, which provides that child marriage is voidable, should be declared unconstitutional and Article 21 of the Constitution of India should be violated.

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) said that it will provide her shelter. Although the court had earlier issued a notice to the state into the matter, it was later told that it is necessary to make the central government a party to make child marriage void from the beginning.