Plea to declare all child marriages void: HC seeks response
The Delhi High Court on Monday sought a response from the Aam Aadmi Party government on a plea to declare all child marriages performed in the national capital as void ab initio (to be treated as invalid from the outset). The petitioner has sought a declaration from the court that every child marriage performed in the state should be void ab-initio.
Notices issued to Delhi government, petitioner's father, brother, husband
A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh has sought the Delhi Government's stand on the petition by a woman who has urged the court to nullify her marriage which was allegedly performed when she was a minor. The court also issued notice to her father, brother, and the man she was married to, seeking their response before February 12.
A provision of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act challenged
The woman, represented by advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir, has challenged a provision of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act which makes a wedding of minors void-able only if either of the person was a minor at the time of marriage. She is staying at an undisclosed location as she fears her family would force her to agree to the marriage, performed in April 2010.
She was beaten when she objected to the alliance
The woman, born on December 10, 1993, said she was awaiting her class X results at the time of marriage. On November 19, 2020, her 'husband,' who is the son of her maternal aunt, came to take her to Gujarat. When she objected, she was allegedly beaten up by her brother at the behest of her 'husband.' Subsequently, she escaped on November 20, 2020.
