Ranchi: Referring to the Muslim Personal Law, the Jharkhand High Court has said that Muslim girls aged 15 years or above possess the liberty to marry the person of their choice without any interference from their guardians.
The High Court made the remark while this while quashing criminal proceedings based on an FIR lodged against a Muslim youth who married a 15-year-old girl in his community. It was alleged in the FIR that Mohd. Sonu (24), a resident of Nawada in Bihar, coaxed a 15-year-old Muslim girl from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand to marry him.
However, Sonu challenged the criminal proceedings initiated against him based on the FIR filed by the girl's father and pleaded that the High Court to quash the FIR. During the hearing, the girl's father admitted in court that he was not against the marriage and filed the FIR "due to some misunderstanding." The lawyer, representing the girl's family also told the court that both families have accepted the marriage.
After hearing the argument of both sides Justice Dwivedi ordered that the FIR and criminal proceedings against Sonu be canceled. The High Court in its order stated that said matters related to the marriage of Muslim girls are governed by the Muslim Personal Law Board, adding in the context of this particular case that the girl is 15 years old, and she is free to marry the person of her choice.
